Senior Social Worker

Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. 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 Education 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 Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level Current state requirements may be found by going to English Language Proficiency Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates Senior Social Worker - GS-12 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 Licensure/Certification 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 Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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 (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice (c) 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 (d) 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 (e) 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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services. Duties VA Careers - Social Work: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES a Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting - especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems and suicide assessment b Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise - with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care settings c Develops - implements - and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients - including prompt completion of clinical reminders d Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues e Provides consultation services to support PCP decision-making - building on PCP interventions and improving PCP-patient working relationships f Provides interventions with a focus on allowing patients to remain with their Primary Care Provider (PCP) for the full range of their health care needs to the extent that this is clinically appropriate g Supervises trainees conducting direct clinical care h Provides administrative duties including: Scheduling of Veterans and related issues - returning Veterans' phone calls and secure messages - writing reports - attending organizational meetings i May be asked to provide service on a full time bases at one of the CBOC's Grants Pass/K-Falls j Provides consultation and training to Primary Care Service Line staff in the identification and management of common mental and behavioral health disorders that present in a primary care setting when indicated Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance):Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive Contact View email address on click.appcast.io - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance Learn more 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience 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: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 00000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Available #J-18808-Ljbffr