Social Worker (Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program)

About the role

The Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) is seeking a dedicated Social Worker to join the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP) team in Tuskegee, Alabama. This position plays a vital role in delivering comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder services to Veterans in a residential setting.

Responsibilities

• Utilize a Veteran-centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
• Absorb and assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veteran's problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• Implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals, using judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem-solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• Show fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.

Requirements

• Basic Requirements:
  • United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
  • 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.
  • 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.
• Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • (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 Veteran's 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, using 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, including acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.

Qualifications

• Education: 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:
  • (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, educational, and other 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.

Skills

• Ability to utilize a Veteran-centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
• Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veteran's problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals, using judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem-solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.

Benefits

• Total Rewards: Competitive salary and regular salary increases; Above Minimum Rate of the Grade; Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time off per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year); 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); Telework: Not Available; Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Pay

Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA.

Schedule

Total Rewards: Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am - 4:30pm; Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time off per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year); 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); Telework: Not Available; Virtual: This is not a virtual position.