Senior Social Worker

Summary

This position is located within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Southeast Network (VISN 7), VA Augusta Health Care System in the Mental Health Service's Substance Use Recovery Center (SURC). The Senior Clinical Social Worker practices independently at the advanced licensure level, providing specialized clinical psychosocial and case management services to Veterans experiencing substance use disorders (SUD), co-occurring mental health conditions, and related psychosocial challenges.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties to include but not limited to: Provides advanced psychosocial and case management services for Veterans with substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric and medical conditions. Delivers supportive counseling and recovery-focused interventions aimed at reducing relapse risk, improving coping, and increasing engagement in treatment. Independently assesses high-risk factors such as detox needs, withdrawal risk, overdose risk, relapse history, housing instability, and social determinants impacting recovery. Conducts detailed, recovery-focused psychosocial assessments including substance use history, treatment history, recovery strengths, triggers,psychosocial implications of SUD, and readiness for change. Incorporates complex multiple causation when diagnosing mental health and substance use disorders within approved clinical privilege. - Identifies treatment barriers and collaborates with Veterans and family/support systems to address them Develops individualized treatment plans that integrate SUD recovery goals, harm-reduction strategies, relapse-prevention planning, and coordination with interdisciplinary provider Provides independent consultation to team members regarding clinical assessment findings and recommended treatment approaches for SUD and co-occurring disorders. Determines appropriate use of VA and community recovery resources (e.g., residential treatment, detoxification services, peer support, community sober-living options) Provides individual, group, and family counseling tailored to substance use recovery, including relapse-prevention groups, psychoeducation, recovery skills training, and evidence-based psychotherapies. Engages Veterans in exploring recovery motivation, evaluating substance-related consequences, and building coping strategies through structured interventions. Coordinates care with community-based agencies, residential SUD programs, shelters, halfway houses, and other relevant supports Maintains a productive network of referral resources specific to SUD and co-occurring treatment needs Participates in SURC program development, outcome measurement, and quality-improvement initiatives. Evaluates practice effectiveness through peer review, case conferences, chart audits, and data-driven analyses. Adjusts treatment plans based on evolving clinical needs or Veteran response to interventions. Maintains adherence to professional standards of SUD treatment and supports staff in achieving proficiency in contemporary SUD modalities Educates Veterans and family/significant others on substance use, mental health conditions, relapse prevention, and recovery planning. Provides mentorship and supervision to Social Workers and other trainees. Delivers staff education on SUD treatment modalities, screening tools, crisis management, and recovery-oriented best practices. Independently documents assessments, diagnostics, treatment plans, psychotherapy notes, progress updates, safety plans, and referrals following VA and clinic standards Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm;subject to change based upon agency needs EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Lakita Bush,[email protected] the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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 $416.66. 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)

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. 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/ 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: GS-185-12-Senior Social Worker 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 man