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Senior Social Worker (CBOC)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Senior Social Worker will practice out of the Laguna Hills Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). The incumbent is an integral member of a comprehensive team which delivers primary care to Veteran patients in a longitudinal fashion with the focus on prevention, health promotion, care coordination and chronic disease management. The incumbent often functions as a care coordinator with a large panel of Veterans to ensure that health care meets the needs of the Veteran and support system.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/23/2022 to 10/14/2022
Salary
$91,254 to - $118,635 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Laguna Hills, CA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSX-11658139-22-LT
Control number
678449200

Videos

Duties

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VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

Duties include, but are not limited to:

  • Uses a high level of clinical skills in assessment and treatment of Veterans and their families/significant others. Provides direct patient care, serves as a subject matter expert of VA primary care services and resources, and provides consultation and guidance to both social work colleagues and other disciplines within the CBOC.
  • Provides case consultation and mentorship to other PACT Social Workers who are in primary care settings across the hospital.
  • Demonstrate clinical skill and expertise to establish and maintain therapeutic relationships with Veterans in Primary Care Clinic settings, who may present with complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, financial, legal, and psychosocial problems.
  • Timely completion of thorough psychosocial assessments to determine the level of functioning, social supports, and other needs of Veterans.
  • Possess a working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses, substance abuse disorders, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.
  • Facilitation of community placements through collaboration with Veterans, Veteran's family/Caregivers, VA providers and community providers to ensure that appropriate community placements are completed in a timely manner.
  • Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families/Caregivers regarding community resources, VA benefits and specialty programs, and advance directives for health care.
  • Provide case management services to Veterans and their families/Caregivers throughout the continuum of care.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and skill in the use of software applications for drafting documents and data management as well as other computer systems in use by VHA.
  • Other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 0800am-04:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:Available
Telework: As determined by management
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Functional Statement #: 00000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Subject to background/security investigation.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
  • Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

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 the CSWE website to verify that the Social Work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master's 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. License documentation must be submitted with application.
  • English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
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. 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 in PACT or primary care/ambulatory care settings and or in a VA CBOC.
  • Experience working with an interdisciplinary medicine team to support complex patients, family and team dynamics.
References: VA Handbook 5005/12, Part II, Appendix G39

Physical Requirements: Traveling throughout the medical center and the community is required, as is performing activities involving sitting, walking, and standing, bending and carrying such items as books, papers, and files. 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 the community. The incumbent must possess current driver's license and drive a government vehicle in carrying out professional duties when deemed necessary.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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