Social Worker- Community Living Center

The Veterans Administration Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) is a multi-site medical system with an academic teaching mission that includes medical centers, rehabilitation facilities, and community based outpatient clinics. Services include primary health care, medicine, surgery, mental health and substance abuse treatment, home health care and geriatrics/long term care, respite, hospice, palliative care, and emergency care.

Qualifications:

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.
• 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. 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/.
• Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.

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).

Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.

1. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
2. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
4. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
5. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determinations:

Social Worker, GS-9:Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
2. Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
3. Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
4. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
5. Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

Social Worker, GS-11:

• Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.
• Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
2. Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds.
3. Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
4. Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
5. Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.

Preferred Experience: The incumbent uses initiative and resourcefulness in deviating from traditional methods or trends and patterns to develop new methods, criteria, and proposed new policies.

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-09 to GS-11.

Responsibilities:

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major Duties include but are not limited to:

• The social worker will develop a psychosocial assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the veteran, family members and significant others.
• Must have an understanding of the problems of advancing age and respect for the diversification of the aging veteran population, being sensitive to human growth and development, age-appropriate needs and concerns of the geriatric veteran, and be able to provide current and advanced techniques to the treatment of this veteran population.
• Responsible for contributing to the development of the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the veteran and family members/caregiver.
• The Social Worker will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the veteran's needs. Responsible for educating the veteran and family members/caregivers of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on veteran's preference or that of the surrogate decision-maker.
• Responsible for developing knowledge regarding VA and community social service programs and utilizing this knowledge to the benefit of veterans.
• Educate and encourage the veteran to advocate on his/her own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment.
• Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans.
• Complete an assessment and review the progress notes from the other providers to accurately determine the strengths and limitations of each client.
• Assist veteran and their family members/caregiver in planning for timely discharge/aftercare by offering appropriate and viable discharge/aftercare options to the veteran and appropriate family members/caregiver.
• Enter all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates.
• Collaborate in the performance improvement processes and comply with performance measures as required by the VA for their specific population and/or program.
• Participate in activities that obtain feedback from clients and work to enhance services as needed.
• Attend all appropriate staff meetings (interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, Social Work staff meetings, Social Work supervision meetings, and other committees and workgroups, as appropriate) and perform other duties as required.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am - 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: Ad-Hoc Telework is available as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #:26794-F, 26795-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $417