Summary This position is located in the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program, a unit of the Mental Health Clinic. The Senior Social Worker provides Mental health services to the veteran population enrolled at Martinsburg VA Medical Center. Services include provision of high quality case management, individual and group therapy, clinical treatment, crisis intervention, advocacy, coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers//agencies, as needed by the client. Responsibilities VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz\_ua\_UU Major Duties: Screening/Assessment- Develop a psychosocial assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the veteran and family members/significant others. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting- Responsible for contributing to the development of the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the veteran, family members/significant others and other Outpatient Mental Health clinical staff. Referral to service providers- Throughout the course of treatment, the Social Worker is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources. The Social Worker will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the veteran's needs. The Social Worker is responsible for educating the veteran and family members/significant others of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference or that of his surrogate decision-maker. Resource Usage/Development- Responsible for using the current Social Work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of veterans. Advocacy- Understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran and family members/caregiver. When appropriate and feasible, the Social Worker will educate and encourage the veteran to advocate on his/her own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Crisis Intervention- Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. The Social Worker has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. Education/Health promotion and prevention- Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will and will refer veterans and family members/significant others to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs. Coordination of non-institutional and institutional services- Review the progress notes from the other providers to accurately determine the strengths and limitations of each veteran. The Social Worker will educate the veteran, their family members/significant other and the team of all the options available to them and will collaborate with the veteran and family members/significant other on the preferred option. Supportive Counseling- Provide the veterans and their family members/significant other with ongoing supportive counseling. The purpose of such counseling is to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with severe mental illness(es), chronic/disabling illness(es), onset of a catastrophic illness, etc. Therapy- Provides individual and group evidence-based therapies (i.e. CPT, PE, etc.) to veterans. Administrative responsibilities- Enter all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates. This information will be entered in a complete, confidential, and professional manner to insure information on the veteran is shard with other VA staff. Evaluation, Education, Supervision, Coaching and Mentoring- Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker FS 613-25024-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications 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: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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. 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 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 judgement. 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, the candidate 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. 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 GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. Education IMPORTANT: 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.