Social Worker-Patient Aligned Care Team

Qualifications Basic Requirements:
Citizenship:
Be a citizen of the United States 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 /T38

Hybrid/

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 http://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).

to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work 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) 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:
Social Worker, GS-9 (1) Experience, Education, and Licensure None beyond the basic requirements (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors (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 (3) [Entry Level] Assignments Individuals assigned as GS-9 grade level social workers are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised, as they are not yet functioning at the independent practice level conferred by independent licensure or certification Social workers at the GS-9 entry level are typically assigned to program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience Duties may include but are not limited to: identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning providing social work case management acting as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members identifying the Veteran's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and psychosocial acuity, in collaboration with the Veteran, family, and interdisciplinary treatment teams maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the Veteran and/or family members/caregivers and assist with the appropriate referrals Since social workers at this level are not practicing at an independent level, they should not be assigned to program areas where independent practice is required, such as in a CBOC, unless there is a licensed social worker in the program area who can provide supervision for practice…