Senior Social Worker

We're Looking for a skilled Senior Social Worker in the Veterans Health Administration based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Read through the job description to see if it matches your current experience.

The Successful Applicant

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 07/11/2023 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 106419 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. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 section A paragraph 3g this part). Education. Have a masters 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 masters 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. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the masters degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS0185 social work series they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS0185 series they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. 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. In addition to the basic requirements for employment the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent masters level within three years of their appointment as a Senior Social Worker GS12 (1) 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 GS11 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 postmasters 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. (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities. 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 3540 hours of work per week. Parttime experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Preferred Experience: LCSW Medical Social Work. References: VA Regulations specifically VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix 39 Social Worker Job Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 Employee Occupational Health Services. The work is sometimes sedentary. Typically the employee will sit to perform administrative work. However other position duties include physical requirements which include but not limited to long periods of walking standing bending crouching reaching and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items carrying of light items such as papers books small parts or driving an automobile etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

What’s on Offer

The role offers excellent opportunities for top performers to further develop their competencies as a social worker and improving the lives of people.