This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. 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. 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 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. 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. For this grade level, applicants must be licensed at the advanced practice level. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 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. 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. 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 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. Advanced Practice Level: For all assignments above the full performance (journey) 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. Advanced Practice Level is defined as the ability to provide independent and expert clinical psychosocial and case management services in a specialized area of practice to Veterans who tend to have serious and severe crises, may lack any familial and community support, may be poor self-monitors, may frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or may have major deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. The advanced practice or senior social worker has an increased depth and breadth of practice skills; has expertise in participating in the professional development of colleagues through mentorship and teaching; demonstrates leadership in developing and expanding professional intervention strategies; demonstrates leadership in defining and attending to professional practice issues; and has the ability to expand the conceptual knowledge of the profession. The advanced practice or senior social worker will make independent professional decisions and recommendations for agency action; the consequences to the Veteran of these decisions and actions may be quite serious. Work involves intensive social work services requiring the exercise of mature professional judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of complex social work practice skills not typically required in routine social work interventions. The advanced practice or senior social worker has mastered a range of specialized interventions and provides consultation to colleagues, renders professional opinions based on experience and expertise, develops new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention, and incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment. The advanced practice or senior social worker utilizes outcome evaluations to further treatment and designs system changes based on empirical findings. References: VA Handbook 5005/23, Part II, Appendix G39. Physical Requirements: Use of fingers; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Hearing (aid permitted); Clear Speech. The environment involves everyday risks and discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of offices, patient rooms, and in general, the medical center. It also involves normal risks associated with a medical center, including exposure to contagious diseases and disturbed patients. ["Major Duties: The Senior Social Worker is responsible for provision of duties within the MH RRTP. The Senior Social Worker completes an initial orientation to the residential treatment program and develops the track curriculum for the residential treatment program they are assign within the MH RRTP. The Senior Social Worker will complete quality management functions, to include review of performance measures, policy and procedures, chart audits, and review and preparation for internal and external review processes. The Senior Social Worker is responsible for treatment planning which includes, but is not limited to, referrals for further assessment, therapy services and/or inpatient psychiatric treatment, creating an integrated summary of the Veteran's medical, mental health, social, employment, financial and familial history. Senior Social Worker possesses advanced skills with specialized intervention and treatment modalities in specialty treatment programs. The Senior Social Worker is responsible for provision of duties within the behavioral medicine service as needed to assist psychiatric providers for linkage/referral to support services. The Senior Social Worker is responsible for provision of duties within the MH RRTP program on as needed basis. The Senior Social Worker provides case management for veterans within the program. Responsibilities include provision of multiple weekly group therapy sessions per week. The incumbent is responsible for provision of individual and/or supportive therapy with patients weekly from the MH RRTP program as needed and requested by patient. The Senior Social Worker is responsible for duties as The Mental Health Therapist. Responsibilities include: (a) expert skills in developing, (b) implement methods of treatment, and (c) on going treatment evaluations. Senior Social Worker utilizes treatment evaluations to alter treatment plans to ensure effective clinical treatment, individual and group therapy sessions, case management, crisis intervention, advocacy, and linkage to improve the Veteran treatment outcome and reduce mental health symptoms. The responsibilities of the Senior Social Worker will on an as needed basis provide clinical social work responsibilities in settings where they have no access to social work supervision, such as community-based outpatient clinics. The Senior Social Worker is responsible for provision of duties as an Independent Clinical Social Worker to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty mental health residential area. Senior Social Worker possesses the ability to supervise candidates for Independent Clinical Social Work licensure for special clinical privileges as needed. Senior Social Worker is responsible for the development and provision curriculum for LICSW candidate's preparation for the Advanced Clinical Social Work Exam. Senior Social Worker and LICSW Candidate meet for a period of no less than 100 contact hours within two years. Documentation of contact is maintained for final submission to WV Board of Social Work Examiners. Duties include provision of consultation and guidance to colleagues and role model effective social work practice skills. The Senior Social Worker is licensed at the Independent level for Social Work to teach an mentor staff and students in clinical practice to provide higher level of clinical psychiatric care. The Senior Social Worker demonstrates the ability to assess and identify our Veterans who have multiple issues including but not limited to: psychological and physical traumas, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, substance abuse, dual psychiatric illnesses', physical disabilities and health concerns, etc.) that requires advanced therapeutic skill interventions to address an ever-changing group curriculum and/or individual session that will meet the specialized needs of each Veteran. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation Incentive: Authorized Recruitment Incentive: Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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