Supervisory Social Worker (Mental Health)

Full Job Description

This Supervisory Social Worker position is in Mental Health services at the VA Bedford Healthcare Systems, located at the Bedford, MA location. This position is full time at 40 hours per week.

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: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C.

§ 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: Citizenship.

Be a citizen of the United States.

(Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A ,paragraph 3g this part) 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 tohttp://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 tohttp://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.

Different states have different levels of licensure or certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level.

Each state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice.

Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services, and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social worker's level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards.

All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB.

Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/.The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work.

ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work.

The ASWB offers three examinations.

The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification, while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification.

Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application.

Grade Determinations: Supervisory Social Worker, GS-12 Education and Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.

Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment.

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 Supervisory Social Workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and 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: Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines.

Knowledge of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation negotiation with other departments and quality improvement.

Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services. Ability to provide staff training and development.

Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers. Preferred Experience: Preferred experience with Veterans homelessness and/or addiction.

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-12 Physical Requirements: See VA Handbook 5019.

In carrying out responsibilities it may be necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where he/she conducts interviews with the veterans, their families, representatives of community health and welfare agencies and law enforcement agencies.

Major Duties:

VA Careers - Social Work: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The incumbent serves as the GS-12 level Clinical Social Worker Supervisor for the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (MH RRTP), including Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans (DCHV) and the Domiciliary Substance Use Disorder (DOM-SUD) program.

The incumbent acts as the primary social work supervisor within the MH RRTP, providing both administrative and clinical supervision to the social work case managers within these programs.

Duties include but are not limited to: Provides support and case assignments to clinicians within the MH RRTP programs; Consults, assess and screens Veterans to ensure appropriate clinical assignments; Works with the clinical team to consider evidence base training, high risk for suicide status, high utilization of inpatient services; Oversees all clinical programing within the DCHV program including developing, scheduling, and overseeing the implementation of the clinical programming; Evaluates and refines group curricula to ensure they meet the needs of the Veteran population and adhere to evidence-based practices and national MHRRTP requirements; Works to ensure the clinical team is in compliance with VHA directives, facility policies, operating procedures and bulletins, Joint Commission and other accrediting body standards; Supports the mission, policies, and procedures of the VA, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the appropriate Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and the facility; Serves on committees, work groups and task forces at the facility, VISN, and/or VA Central Office levels; Provides clinical care and intervention including screening, assessment, treatment planning and intervention, discharge planning and referrals to appropriate VA and community resources; Understands that those policies and practices are subject to change and will be required to adjust work as needed but with notice and support from program leadership; and Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 8:00am-4:30pm. Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 518-F08490 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is covered by a special salary rate.

Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action).

The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).

In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees