Senior Social Worker

Full Job Description

The Senior Social Worker is assigned to the Caregiver Support Program and is responsible for collaborating closely with the Caregiver Support Program Manager and/or their designee to perform mandated program activities, including in-home visits, telephone contacts, virtual consultations, assessments, annual evaluations, and ongoing support for enrolled veterans and caregivers.

The role involves delivering clinical, evidence-based services and interventions.

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: Master's degree in social work (MSW) 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 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 master's degree in social work.

Licensure: Candidate 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.

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: In addition to the basic requirements, applicants 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.

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.

Preferred Experience: Experience working with the geriatric population in community nursing homes and conducting home visits. Skilled in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.

Experienced with travel visits. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items. Major Duties:

Major duties include: Assess Veterans' needs for personal care services, including Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), supervision, protection, or instruction, in collaboration with the Caregiver Support Program Coordinator(s) and/or designee(s).

This involves completing and re-evaluating Veteran functional assessments.

Conduct initial home assessments as part of the application or re-assessment process for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.

Evaluate functional and mobility needs, safety concerns, and the necessity for personal care services through standardized assessments.

These assessments support the Centralized Eligibility and Appeal Teams (CEAT) in determining applicant eligibility.

Support the daily operations of the Caregiver Support Program within the assigned area, ensuring compliance with program policies and collaboration with local facility and VA Central Office initiatives.

Engage in both in-person and virtual interactions with caregivers and Veterans to assess functional status and care needs, and, as appropriate, develop and implement clinical treatment interventions.

Utilize and help maintain data monitoring systems to evaluate program effectiveness.

Assist in collecting and analyzing local data for reporting purposes to management, VISN Caregiver Support Program Leads, Centralized Eligibility and Appeal Teams, the National Caregiver Support Program, Care Management, Social Work, and the Office of Patient Care Services.

Provide guidance and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams across the medical center on caregiver-related issues.

Conduct clinical interventions with Veterans, caregivers, and families to identify stressors, psychiatric concerns, emotional distress, and social needs that may impact care.

Support caregivers, Veterans, and family members across the Medical Center and community settings.

Process incoming applications for the PCAFC and PGCSS programs via video telehealth, phone, and in-person visits, ensuring organized workflow to facilitate timely processing.

Communicate effectively with the CSP team and other service lines to ensure efficient service delivery. Perform annual in-home wellness visits for Veterans and caregivers within the Raymond G.

Murphy VAMC catchment area.

Conduct scheduled phone wellness visits with Veterans and caregivers approximately every 120 days to assess needs and safety, and initiate appropriate clinical interventions or follow-up as necessary.

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 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized