VA Palo Alto Healthcare System is searching for full-time Social Workers to serve our Veterans in the Bay Area.

See all Social Work Job Opportunities: https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?jt=Social%20Worker&l=Palo%20Alto%2C%20California&d=VA&p=1

Services are provided at one of nine Outpatient Mental Health Clinics providing an array of both general and comprehensive services to address a broad spectrum of problems and complex mental health diagnoses encountered in a typical outpatient setting. The Social Worker independently provides psychosocial assessments and clinical case management services at an advanced practice level to eligible Veterans and their family members to meet biological, psychological, social, and environmental needs. Their health care and psychosocial problems and needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. The incumbent is required to interact not only with the patient but also family, significant others, community agencies, and other interdisciplinary staff.

Incumbent performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veterans, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Other services include, but are not limited to, crisis intervention which may entail coordinating inpatient psychiatric admissions, coordinating welfare checks with local law enforcement departments and mandated reporting to community agencies as needed. The incumbent may be trained to support and/or provide direct clinical services using other technologies, such as, Tele-mental health. Services are timely, comprehensive, and effectively coordinated with services provided by other health professionals.

To provide overall comprehensive, integrated treatment, the incumbent is an integral member of both the core mental health team, as well as co-located integrated primary care team (iPACT) and has major responsibilities in the areas of providing social work and general mental health services to Veterans and their families. The Integrated Patient Aligned Care Team (iPACT) is a comprehensive integrated team which delivers primary care and mental health care to Veteran patients in a longitudinal rather than episodic fashion and which has its focus in prevention, health promotion, coordination and chronic disease management. The social worker in this Veteran-centric approach may provide targeted, time limited PCMHI services and may function as a care coordinator (or liaison) to ensure access and provision of appropriate stepped-care to needed medical and mental health services, as defined by the Veteran. The incumbent has administrative responsibilities and performs direct clinical work demonstrating knowledge and skill in assessment, planning and implementation of interventions for the broad spectrum of problems encountered in a typical general outpatient setting. Incumbent provides individual, group, and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans with polytrauma injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, PTSD, substance use and addictions and other serious disorders.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Eligible
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for highly qualified candidate
Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP): Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• This position requires a current valid unrestricted state issued driver's license.

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.
• 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.
• 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 GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part.

Grade Determinations:GS-9 Entry Level Social Worker

Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

(a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
(b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
(c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
(d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
(e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

GS-11 Full Performance Social Worker

Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. Or:

Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
(b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
(c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
(d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
(e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.

References: VA handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G39

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements: This position requires Moderate lifting, 15-44 lbs, Moderate carrying; Reaching above shoulders; Use of fingers; Walking 1-4 hours; Standing 4 hours; Repeated bending 8 hours; Hearing (aid permitted). Operation of a motor vehicle to transport patients and materials is required.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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.

You may also contact Physician/Provider Recruiter: Alisa.Merriott@va.gov