Summary

The Western NY VA Healthcare system is currently recruiting for a Social Worker who will be assigned to the Emergency Department(ED). This position will be responsible in providing psychosocial assessments - crisis intervention - case management services - evaluation/consultation - and referrals/linkage to various community agencies.

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
• 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 3 accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure or Certification
• You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.*Exception - For assignments at the GS-9 level ONLY - VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified - pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations
• VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent - master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker
• English Language Proficiency
• Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English
• 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 for Social Worker - GS-11:Experience and Licensure
• You MUST be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• GS-11 Experience or Education Requirement
• In addition to meeting the basic requirements - to qualify for the GS-11 - you must possess 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
• Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Working under close supervision in program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience
• Identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse - neglect or exploitation
• providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning
• providing social work case management
• acting as an patient/family member/caregiver advocate with community service providers/agencies
• assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members
• In collaboration with the patient - family - and interdisciplinary treatment teams - identifying strengths - weaknesses - coping skills and psychosocial acuity
• Maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the patient and/or family members/caregivers and assist with appropriate referrals
• OR - 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
• AND - Demonstrate Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities(KSA's)
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services
• Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - cultural - ethnic - educational and other diversified backgrounds
• 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
• Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - 7 medical - and social problems to achieve treatment goals
• 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: Emergency Room and Crisis Intervention Experience is highly desirable
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• This is the full performance level of this vacancy - GS-11
• Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing - walking - bending - twisting - and carrying light items.

Duties

• VA Careers:Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Social Worker - Duties include: Conducts psychosocial assessments
• Functions as the ED provider for patients who present to the ED with behavioral health concerns
• Incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities - provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals - families - and groups
• Identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services
• Incumbent is able to coordinates community-based services - including information and referral for additional services from other government programs and community agency programs
• Incumbent is able to communicate effectively - both orally and in writing - with people from varied backgrounds
• Addresses Advance Directive and organ donation in accordance with the standards of their work
• Participates in a rotation of on-call to accommodate patient care
• Incumbent is able to provide the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures
• Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the consumer constructively and appropriately
• Has working knowledge and skill in the use of word-processing - data management and other computer systems
• Assures timely and accurate documentation - using appropriate notes and templates as defined within the facility ED - Suicide Prevention Program and Behavioral health
• Note: The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform additional tasks as necessitated by the supervisor or designee
• Licensed Social Worker at the GS-11 will perform duties Independently
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:00a-5:30p / 1:30p-12:00a (Rotating) 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) Ad-hoc Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 24238F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized