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
• Must 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 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 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 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 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
• 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: 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
• Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary and primarily performed in an office setting located at the Dayton VA Medical Center
• Typical office work involves active listening, reading, observing, and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, writing reports and clinical notes, writing policies and procedures, and speaking to groups of people as part of suicide prevention related trainings
• The position requires the use of office equipment such as computers, keyboards, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines
• Visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity are required
• The incumbent may potentially have long periods of walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pushing, pulling and light lifting up to 35 pounds for items such as books, binders, reports, records, and training materials
• The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders
• The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs
• The work can occur at an off-based workstation in coordination with the community partners
• When work is performed in a setting away from the office, the work environment cannot be controlled
• This position potentially requires some nontraditional work hours to include possible evening, early morning, weekend, and holiday hours
• If required as a condition of employment, the incumbent must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, employee physicals, etc
• Occasional Travel will be required to promote suicide prevention initiatives in the community and CBOCs
• A valid driver's license is required for official travel
• The incumbent who provides care in home settings or other off-site locations may be required to drive and/or ride in GSA vehicles.