Lead Social Worker (HBPC)

SummaryIncumbent is an advance practice professional social worker assigned to the Sacramento HBPC Program, located at McClellan as a member of the interdisciplinary team and as lead social worker for Northern California HBPC (North State, Sacramento Valley, and East Bay HBPC).ResponsibilitiesIncumbent performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Incumbent 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. The social worker will independently provide a comprehensive psychosocial assessment and integrates it into an overall plan of care in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the veteran, family members, and significant others, whenever possible. The goal of the assessment is to highlight the veteran's strengths, limitation, and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the veteran's functional status and safely maintain the veteran in his/her home. The assessment requires a home visit. It is the responsibility if the social worker, working within the interdisciplinary treatment team to develop a treatment plan with the veteran based on this assessment. Provides and coordinates orientation and training of new Northern California HBPC staff. Provides consultation for difficult/ complex cases. Offers consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialty areas, including social work in palliative area and gerontology, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Demonstrates the ability to teach and mentor staff and students on the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensures or specialty certifications. Incumbent possesses the advanced practice skills to independently make a psychosocial diagnosis and offer psychosocial interventions, and then measures outcomes to interventions. The social worker participates and can lead weekly interdisciplinary care planning meetings when asked by the HBPC program Director. The incumbent is empowered to design systems based on observations, data, and experience. Ongoing assessments and updating treatment plans are done when necessary or on a quarterly basis given the changing needs, as health status changes. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - FridayFinancial Disclosure Report: Not requiredRequirementsConditions of EmploymentQualificationsApplicants 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: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA policy). English language proficiency - Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English Education - 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 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 http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work. (COPIES OF TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION) 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. (COPIES OF LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION) - Must be fully Licensed Clinical Social Worker. 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). Grade Determinations: A. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker, available in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: Light lifting, under 15 pounds; Light carrying, under 15 pounds; Environmental Factors: Outside and inside; Working closely with others; Working alone.EducationIMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.Additional InformationReceiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.