Summary

The Incumbent serves as a Senior Social Worker for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (7West) within the Acute Care Section of the Mental Health Service line at VA Puget Sound Health Care System located in Seattle - Washington. The Social Worker has responsibility to provide direct services for Veterans - their families and caregivers to ensure the care provided is of the highest quality.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements:

• 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 to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) 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
• (COPY OF ADVANCE PRACTICE LICENSE REQUIRED FOR GS-12) 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 judgment
• 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 (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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
• (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• (c) 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
• (d) 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
• (e) 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
• References: 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: Sitting for long periods of time
• Environmental factors include working alone and working closely with others.

Duties

• Provide a full range of services within the Social Work Scope of Practice based on Veteran needs - acuity level - and preferences for care
• Services may include - but are not limited to - the following: case management
• individual - family - and group therapy
• discharge planning
• resource linkage
• and care coordination
• Provide consultation and psychoeducation to Veterans and Veteran families on topics including community resources - Advance Directives - VA benefits - budgeting - activities of daily living - and recovery goals
• Act as a consultant to other team/staff members and take a lead clinical role in case consultation
• Fulfill ethical responsibilities to Veterans - colleagues and VA in accordance with NASW Code of Ethics - VHA Code of Ethics - and local ethics policies
• This includes but is not limited to: compliance with all laws and regulations related to confidentiality and release of information
• protecting Veterans' personal identifying information
• Document all Veteran care in the electronic health record in accordance with facility policy - VHA Directive 1160.06 (and revisions) - and program-specific SOPs
• Ensure compliance with standards and expectations of Joint Commission - CARF - and other relevant accrediting bodies
• Assist program leadership in accreditation preparation and continuous readiness activities as requested
• Actively participate in program planning and development - advising the supervisor of shifting Veteran care needs and identifying the need for SOP or policy changes
• Provide supervision to students - interns - or unlicensed Social Workers as requested
• Maintain familiarity and responsibility for all behavioral health performance measures
• Assist in development and maintenance of operational plans and strategic goals related to these measures
• Responsible for participation and leadership in process improvement - system redesign - and/or other applicable workgroups and committees - to include creation of standard work documents or strategic plan implementation
• Take responsibility for improving professional competencies by participating training programs and continuing education
• Maintain accurate records of trainings in accordance with VA policies and state licensure requirements
• Evaluate own practice through professional peer review - case conferences - and other means
• Complete all mandatory VA trainings in a timely manner
• Provide training - education - and consultation to trainees - VA staff - and community partners as a subject matter expert in specialized practice area(s)
• The Senior Social Worker may also be assigned to do the following: Serve as a consultant and subject-matter expert for Social Work to clinical staff (physicians - nurses - and other disciplines as needed)
• Ensure outpatient follow up care is scheduled in compliance with facility performance measures
• Demonstrate thorough knowledge of state laws regarding involuntary treatment and works closely with Designated Crisis Responders (DCRs) and the court system when appropriate Formally supervise trainees when assigned
• Assist with coordinating scheduled admissions for ECT/ATC
• Develop evidenced based group programming materials
• Engage in the 7W annual retreat
• Coordinate with DSHS and families to facilitate placement to AFH or SNF
• Be knowledgeable of resources for homeless Veterans and refer appropriately
• Perform other related duties as assigned
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available 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) 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: Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized