Senior Social Worker (Bristol CBOC)

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Senior Social Worker assigned to the Bristol Community Based Outpatient Clinic (Bristol CBOC).The incumbent is responsible for coordinating continuum of care transitions to and from the outpatient mental health clinic and other programs/service areas.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - Section A - Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. - chapter 73 or 74 - to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English
• Education - Candidates must have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
• Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work
• Verification of the degree can be made by going to to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure - Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination - unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California - which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grade Determinations: Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above - you must have the following: Experience/Education
• The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which - one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment
• Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice
• Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations
• This includes individual - group - and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area - as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession - and to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: All candidates must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position - with or without reasonable accommodation - without hazard to themselves or others
• Candidates must meet the physical requirements outlined in Section II and Section VI of the OPM Operating Manual - Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions and must possess emotional and mental stability
• The job is sedentary but requires movement throughout the medical center.

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The incumbent works independently to provide expert level psychosocial interventions and case management services to Veterans with complex medical - social and behavioral conditions to enhance the delivery of care and improve mental health treatment outcomes
• Provides a full range of Social Work services within commonly accepted standards of Social Work practice - which includes case work - individual - family and group counseling - care coordination - case management - and other services as appropriate
• Duties include but are not limited to: Providing expert level of therapeutic intervention to identify and address goals of rehabilitation - recovery - health maintenance - improved quality of life - and community integration
• The health care - psychosocial problems and needs of Veterans seen in OPMHS are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving
• Utilizes advanced practice skills - knowledge - and judgment in developing and measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services
• Has specialized knowledge of clinical care coordination - case management and psychosocial treatment of patients with severe mental illness - PTSD - addictive disorders/dual diagnosis - and other significant mental and physical health conditions
• Assists in the development and implementation of service agreements/memorandums between OMHS and other program and service areas
• Analyzes and synthesizes data associated with transitions of care and utilization of mental health services
• Develops and coordinates specialized psychosocial services and programs with OPMS
• Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 7:45am- 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Adhoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 61140F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.