Senior Social Worker (Mental Health/Substance Abuse Treatment Program)

Summary

The Richmond VAMC is seeking a Senior Social Worker to provide advanced clinical services - independent case management - and specialized therapeutic interventions for Veterans with complex needs. The position supports interdisciplinary care and contributes to high-quality patient services.

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 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 to vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• 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: (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
• Preferred Experience: Experience providing individual and group therapy within methadone and/or buprenorphine (Suboxone) treatment programs
• experience supporting patients with pain management needs
• and training with demonstrated skill in delivering evidence-based interventions for substance use disorders
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupation Health Services

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This position is based within the Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Richmond - Virginia
• The staff member reports to the Social Work Service and is assigned to the Outpatient Substance Use Disorders Clinic-Opioid Use Disorders
• Duties include but are not limited to: Provides assessment - diagnosis - comprehensive case management - and psychotherapy services to Veterans with substance use disorders (SUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD) engaged in outpatient substance use treatment
• Meets regularly with the program medical director to support program assessment - monitoring - and ongoing development
• Initiates and supports internal Performance Improvement (PI) projects to enhance the quality and effectiveness of services
• Functions as an integral member of the interdisciplinary treatment team (IDT) - delivering patient-centered - evidence-based care
• Demonstrates advanced skills and experience working with medically and psychiatrically complex Veterans diagnosed with OUD - with strong knowledge of medication-assisted treatment and evidence-based therapies for substance use disorders - including but not limited to Motivational Interviewing - Motivational Enhancement - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Contingency Management - and Relapse Prevention
• Collaborates with the treatment team - VA and community health care providers - and Veterans to increase adherence to treatment plans - address co-occurring mental health conditions - and identify and resolve psychosocial barriers to recovery
• Possesses training and experience working with special populations affected by OUD - such as women - individuals with co-occurring mental health disorders - Veterans with complex pain or serious medical conditions - individuals with legal system involvement - and those with histories of trauma
• Applies knowledge of methadone and buprenorphine (Suboxone) regulatory and documentation requirements - as well as general mental health social work competencies - in a highly controlled and monitored pharmacotherapy environment
• Maintains familiarity with Joint Commission - Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) - and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) requirements and participates in continuous survey readiness activities
• Manages and maintains program-critical databases - monitors Veteran attendance - and - in coordination with the medical director - reviews and responds to positive urine drug screen results
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am -4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized 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: Ad-hoc telework may be available at the discretion of the Service Chief or equivalent Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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