Senior Social Worker General Caregiver Support

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

The Successful Applicant

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: a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. b. 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. c. 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/.Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS9 grade level. For the GS11 grade level and above the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment the supervisor chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline. (a) For appointments at the GS9 grade level VHA social workers who are not 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 social worker. Most states require two years of postMSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam. In states such as California Washington and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years social workers must become licensed at the independent masters level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure. (b) A social worker who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. (c) Different states have different levels of licensure or certification making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level. Each state Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice. Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social workers level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work. The ASWB offers three examinations. The masters examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification. Differences between the masters and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application. (2) Failure to Obtain License or Certification. In all cases social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.(3) Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified social workers must maintain a full valid and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. d. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403 GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS12 Senior Social Worker Experience: In addition to the basic requirements applicants 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. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions. Employee is required to: walk and climb stairs handle finger grasp and feel objects and equipment reach with hands and arms communicate receive and exchange ideas information by means of the spoken and written work be mobile by oneself from place to place quickly and easily repeat various motions with the wrists hands and fingers be able to have visual acuity for (including but not limited to) administrative and clerical tasks. Maintains a valid drivers license and clean driving record. The incumbents driving record will be reviewed through the California Department of Motor Vehicles Employer Pull Notice (EPN) program annually to ensure Veteran and staff safety.

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.