Senior Social Worker (Domiciliary Substance Use Disorder)

The Senior Social Worker for the Amarillo VA Health Care System Behavioral Health Care Line in Amarillo, works under the immediate supervision of the Domiciliary-Substance Use Disorder DOM-SUD Program Manager or A-COS BH, Chief Behavioral Health Service or designee.

The incumbent is a member of this multidisciplinary treatment team and will participate in all aspects of the substance use disorder program and is responsible for the delivery of evidence based treatment to the Veteran.

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.

English Language Proficiency Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j : No person will be appointed under authority of 38 , chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.

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.

Independent Practice 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 Advanced Practice Licensure : Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series at the GS-12 level or higher in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the advanced practice level.

Current state requirements may be found by going to Preferred Experience : Experience with diagnosing Substance Use Disorders (SUD) Clinically competent in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-SUD, Contingency Management and Motivational Interviewing Experience working as an interdisciplinary treatment team Proven ability to engage with patients in evidence based therapy groups.

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, the candidate 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 Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of 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 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 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.

Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to : Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site;

a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity.

The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns.

Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics.

The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality.

The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff.

They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services.

This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility / service and applying sound position management.

This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

References : VA Handbook 5005 / 120 Appendix G39 dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements : The work is sedentary.

Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work.

Work may also require walking / standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and / or conferences away from the work site.

Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. " Social Work : The Behavioral Health Clinic utilizes a broad range of treatment modalities, and the incumbent will perform a variety of counseling, treatment, assessment, diagnosis and service assignments which requires specialized knowledge in the nature and impact of substance use / co-occurring mental health disorders on the Veteran and family system.

The position requires an individual with comprehensive professional competence and judgment. The clinical objectives and activities to be supported by the incumbent include : Improved substance use / mental health outpatient treatment.

Improved mental health assessments, as demonstrated with the use of Measurement Based Care tool, BAM-R / BAM-IOP and case management.

Improved referrals for patients with mental health / medical needs. Improved individualization of SUD and behavioral health treatment.

Improved SUD and mental health patient continuity of care, follow-up and aftercare. Functions of the position : DOM-SUD Clinical Care and Treatment Development : 1.

The incumbent is responsible for the implementation of short and long-range social work treatment delivery goals. 2. The incumbent assists the DOM-SUD Leadership Team in developing and implementing policies and procedures pertinent to clinical treatment aspects of the DOM-SUD Team's operation and treatment services.

3. The incumbent is responsible for assisting DOM-SUD Leadership in the awareness and implementation of all documentation and reporting standards for the patient's clinical record, and showing compliance with JCAHO, CARF and VAMC requirements by social workers in the DOM-SUD Team.

4. The incumbent can represent the DOM-SUD Team at all appropriate clinical and administrative Medical Center meetings, conference calls and community events.

5. The incumbent is responsible for keeping DOM-SUD leadership informed through weekly meetings, of identified clinical needs to include evidenced based therapies in the DOM-SUD Team.

6. The incumbent can provide clinical supervision to the DOM-SUD Social Work staff. Clinical Services : 1. The incumbent provides direct evidenced based clinical treatment to veterans admitted to the DOM-SUD RRTP.

This may include educational DOM-SUD offerings, group therapy, individual therapy, diagnosis, assessments, intakes, discharge and aftercare planning.

2. The incumbent may present clinical matters to the treatment team as part of the interdisciplinary treatment planning process.

3. The incumbent may serve as a professional consultant on SUD issues and DOMSUD level of treatment to other staff at the Medical Center as well as community agencies.

4. The incumbent is responsible for maintaining timely and accurate records in CPRS documentation. Work Schedule : Tuesday - Saturday 11 : 30am 8 : 00pm (variable shift but will include nights and weekends).

Pay : Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience.

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 $ 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 : Not Available Virtual : This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : SENIOR SOCIAL WORKER Domiciliary Substance Use Disorder (DOM-SUD) Relocation / Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS) : Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report : Not required"