Social Worker-MSW LCSW

Job Description

Position Title: Social Worker - MSW/LCSW

Location: Riley Hospital

Shift: Full-Time Evening

Position Overview: The Social Worker provides face-to-face support and intervention with patients and families, collaborating effectively with the healthcare team to ensure safe, timely, and resource-informed care. In this role, you will develop treatment plans, serve as a resource and role model for students and interns, and address complex psychosocial issues. You will also serve as a leader in crisis situations, utilizing de-escalation techniques and providing specialized mental health services, including crisis intervention, guardianship, foster care, and abuse response.

Key Responsibilities:

Meet face-to-face with patients and families, conducting psychosocial assessments and providing counseling.


Assist in developing educational materials for team members and patients/families.


Serve as a resource and role model for students, interns, LBSWs, and LSWs.


Collaborate with the clinical team on treatment plans to address psychosocial issues, working as a mental health consultant for providers.


Communicate and coordinate with all members of the healthcare team to facilitate safe and timely services, ensuring patients and families receive necessary resources and education.


Interpret and communicate complex patient/family needs, modeling caring practices to caregivers.


Assess psychosocial risks by evaluating prior functioning, support systems, reactions to illness, and coping mechanisms.


Counsel patients and families regarding emotional, social, and financial impacts of illness/disability.


Access and mobilize community and family resources to meet identified needs.


Conduct mental health assessments upon physician referral and provide therapeutic interventions to support complex discharge planning.


Serve as the primary point of contact for cases involving child abuse/neglect, adult/elderly abuse/neglect, institutional abuse, and domestic violence.


Act as liaison between IU Health and state/county protective services.


Maintain principles and practices of crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques.


Provide intervention in guardianship (temporary/permanent), foster care, adoption, and mental health level II placements.


Deliver specialized mental health services, including crisis intervention, addiction assessments, and psychiatric referrals.


Manage dangerous or potentially dangerous situations with clinical leadership and intervention.


Support patients in acute crisis, utilizing de-escalation to prevent violence or injury.


Use effective interviewing techniques with victims, perpetrators, family members, and significant others.


Provide intervention for end-of-life, guardianship, foster care, and adoption cases.

Qualifications & Requirements:

Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) is required.


Permanent licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) is required.


Certification in Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) or an equivalent de-escalation training within 6 months of hire.


Knowledge of evidence-based psychosocial assessment, short-term therapeutic counseling, and crisis intervention for mental health and substance use disorders.


Understanding of disease processes, human behavior, and social determinants of health.


Strong discharge planning skills for safe patient transitions.


Knowledge of state and county legal mandates related to child and adult protective services.


Experience with growth and development principles across the lifespan, including end-of-life care.


Ability to identify decision-makers and facilitate goals of care conversations.


Experience adapting services for diverse populations across geographic, cultural, and economic backgrounds.


Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with hospital administration, medical teams, law enforcement, APS/DCS, schools, probation, and community agencies.


Responds effectively to violent or crisis situations, including collaboration with the Department of Public Safety.


Proficiency in computer literacy and documentation within an EMR system.


Maintains principles of crisis intervention and de-escalation.


May be scheduled for on-call and holiday rotations as needed.

About Us

• Indiana University Health has nearly 40,000 team members, including more than 3,600 physicians and 1,200 advanced practice providers, and we're home to the largest nursing network in Indiana with more than 9,000 nursing team members at over 800 sites of care.
• IU Health is ranked No. 1 in Indiana by U.S. News & World Report, Riley Children's Health is ranked among the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
• A unique partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine - one of the nation's largest medical schools - gives patients access to groundbreaking research and innovative treatments, and it offers team members access to the latest science and the very best training - advancing healthcare for all.
• With 15 hospitals, including seven with Magnet designation and eight with Pathways to Excellence designation, our team members are leading the way through excellence.
• At Indiana University Health, your personal and professional growth is a top priority. You will have access to many diverse opportunities to learn and develop in meaningful ways that matter most to you, such as advanced clinical training, leadership development, promotion opportunities and cross training development.
• Indiana University Health is invested in the lives of Hoosiers, leading the transformation of healthcare to make Indiana one of the nation's healthiest states.

About the Team

Indiana University Health is Indiana's most comprehensive health system, with 15 hospitals and nearly 40,000 team members serving Hoosiers across the state. We're looking for team members who are inspired by challenging and meaningful work for the good of every patient. People who are compassionate and serve with a purpose. People who aspire to excellence every day.