The Senior Domiciliary Social Worker is assigned to the Coatesville VAMC Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program(RRTP), located within VISN4, and reports to the the Domiciliary Chief and/or the Assistant Domiciliary Chief. The incumbent independently provides individual and group psychotherapy, family or couple's counseling as needed, conducts risk assessments, as well as clinical, behavioral, psychosocial, and psycho-diagnostic assessments, and case management services.
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 be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Acreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for the masters of social work. Licensure. Person 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 https://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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: Senior Social Worker GS-12 Experience and Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgement, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. Licensure/Certification: Individuals assigned as Social Worker Program Coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 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 causation 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. Preferred Experience: Evidenced based psychotherapies, experience in Substance Use Disorder(SUD) treatment. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.
Major duties include, but are not limited to: The incumbent is able to provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with mental health diagnoses, including mood disorders, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other serious mental health conditions. Develops treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment. Provides independent consultation and makes recommendations to interdisciplinary team on course of treatment. Gives advice, guidance, emotional support and other assistance. Establishes a continuing relationship with veterans, makes recommendations for care, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. Offers consultation to colleagues and students on the treatment of patients treated in specialty areas, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise. Demonstrated the ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for Licensure. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized 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 #: 000000 - Senior Social Worker Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized