Senior Social Worker - Mental Health

01Basic 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 masters of social work.

Licensed: 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Applicants with Florida LCSW, to qualify for APL Qualified Supervision Delegation, QSCSW must be on licensure.

For additional information, please refer to Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling » Qualified Supervisor- Licensing, Renewals & Information. Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification. For additional information, please visit Membership - CPTSPR.

02Grade 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/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 and 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.

03Licensure

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.

Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher- level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Program coordinators at the GS-12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program.

The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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 causations 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.

Knowledge of program coordination and administration, which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice Social Work Coordinators are capable of meeting all KSAs for GS 11 social work qualification standards Preferred Experience and Certifications VA Mental Health experiences At least two years experiences post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in an area of specialized social work practice.

Data tracking experiences Excel Workbooks Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

04Physical Requirements

Eligible applicants 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. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.

The New Port Richey Community Based Outpatient Clinic Senior Social Worker will adhere to the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics, all local social work policies and/or SOPs and maintain an unrestricted, unsuspended license to practice social work. The Senior Social Worker performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness.

The Senior Social Worker has the ability to incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. In alignment with the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) for a GS 12 HUD-VASH Senior Social Worker, the following are to serve as an outline of assigned duties for this position.

Additional duties include but not limited to: The New Port Richey Community Based Outpatient Clinic Senior Social Worker 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.

The advanced practice social worker can be further differentiated from the independent practice social worker by incumbent ability to expand clinical knowledge in the profession, provide consultation and guidance to colleagues, role model effective social work practice skills, teach or provide orientation to less experienced social workers, develop innovations in practice interventions, and provide clinical supervision for social work licensure or certification.

Senior Social Workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an ASWB advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advance practice level.

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. Senior Social Workers should have the ability to provide Clinical Supervision to Social Work staff for state licensure.

Senior Social Worker provides individual, group, and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with polytrauma injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions, and other serious disorders. Practice and services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Incumbent is able to demonstrate the ability to design changes based on empirical findings.

Demonstrates the ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications. Independently provides advanced-level diagnosis, assessment, treatment, planning, and advanced case management services to veterans with highly complex mental health problems, including dual diagnoses, reflecting the age-specific, psychosocial, and functional needs of the patient.

Has ability to independently operate a government-owned motor vehicle and drive cumulative long distances (up to several hundreds of miles) per work week. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM Compressed/Flexible: As needed by department Telework: Not Available Travel: Up to 25% may be required. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized