The Senior Social Worker working with the Post 9/11 M2VA program provides clinical and supportive services to veterans enrolled at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, located in the Hinesville, Georgia CBOC area. These services include high quality case management, clinical treatment, advocacy, and coordination of care linkages to other appropriate VA community of care service providers and agencies as needed according to the Veteran. 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. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. 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. Note: 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 http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work. Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work 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. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. Experience: 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 and are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certifications 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and any additional assistance needed. Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. 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. Preferred Experience and Certifications Full independent licensure at the advanced practice level At least two years should be in an area of specialized social work practice. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. 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). The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Moderate Lifting (15-44 lbs); Moderate Carrying (15-44 lbs); Reaching above shoulders, use of both hands and fingers, Walking (6 hrs); Standing (6 hrs); Repeated bending (2-4 hrs); operation of crane, truck, tractor or motor vehicle; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1-4, specific visual requirement (far vision 20/30), ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotional and Mental Stability, sit for extended periods, performs independently, cognitive stability. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Senior Social Worker with the Post 9/11 M2VA Program must have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, the ability to practice at an advanced and independent level and have an expanded clinical knowledge in major specialty treatment programs. The Senior Social Worker will be assigned to work with special patient populations with high complex health or mental health problems. Duties include, but are not limited to: Independently performs case finding functions and outreach to identify and screen patients for psychosocial needs. Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services. Provides crisis intervention services and psychosocial interventions. Conduct psychosocial assessments and develop treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran and their families and the interdisciplinary treatment team. Must be able to coordinate community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs. Must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups. Provide appropriate social work intervention for all consults to the case management team. Provide counseling, case management and education for Veterans and families served by the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and community followed by the Post 9/11 M2VA care team. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 52855F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
