Senior Social Worker-Veterans Justice Program Specialist

Veterans Health Administration • Baltimore, MD

1d

About The Position

The Senior Social Worker serves as a Justice Outreach Social Worker in the Veterans Justice Program. The role provides psychosocial assessments, case management, quality improvement activities, evaluation and consultation, placement services, and referral and linkage to community agencies for Veterans who are within six months of release from correctional institutions or monitored by courts, including treatment and problem-solving courts. The position coordinates with courts, correctional institutions, VA clinicians, and community partners to support eligible Veterans’ transition and engagement in care.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education; a doctoral degree cannot substitute for the master’s degree.
• State licensure or certification to independently practice social work at the master’s degree level.
• Advanced-practice-level state licensure or certification, including an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless covered by the stated grandfathering provisions.
• At least two years of experience after advanced-practice clinical licensure, including at least one year equivalent to the GS-11 level.
• Demonstrated advanced practice skills and judgment in a specialized area of social work practice.
• Skill in specialized interventions and treatment modalities, including individual, group, or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced psychosocial or case management.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation into differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Knowledge of developing and implementing methods to measure the effectiveness of specialty social work practice and services, use outcome evaluations to improve services, and design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students and model effective social work practice.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge and write policies, procedures, or practice guidelines for the service delivery area.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated exception under VA policy.
• Must complete applicable pre-employment requirements, including background/security investigation, drug testing if selected for a testing-designated position, physical evaluation, onboarding, and required documentation.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with the criminal justice system.
• Case management experience.
• Certification or post-master’s training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university in a specialty area.

Responsibilities

• Meet regularly with judges, court officers, correctional administrators, and staff to design or maintain appropriate policies and procedures for each setting.
• Attend justice-system staff trainings relevant to offenders and high-risk populations; represent VA at community meetings and seek or maintain membership on relevant boards, councils, and task forces.
• Collaborate with other Justice Outreach clinicians to support eligible Veterans recently discharged from correctional institutions in engaging with care.
• Conduct active outreach to Veterans involved with the justice system, including participants or potential participants in treatment court programs such as Veterans Courts.
• Identify and interview justice-involved Veterans in appropriate settings, assess their needs, and determine appropriate referrals, linkages, and coordination for VA and non-VA services, including transition from jail or prison.
• Assess, identify, facilitate, refer, and link eligible Veterans to appropriate medical and psychiatric services.
• Conduct individual and family clinical interventions, support treatment attendance, and provide brief progress summaries and treatment results, including toxicology outcomes when applicable.
• Coordinate with VA treating clinicians to establish court reporting processes that meet applicable requirements.
• Facilitate identification of substance abuse, psychiatric illness, and social needs as treatment issues.
• Document contacts with justice-involved Veterans in CPRS progress notes and appropriate evaluation tools, and follow procedures for transmitting and storing documents containing individually identifiable Veteran information.
• Stay current with theory and treatment modalities by reading professional publications and attending conferences, clinic seminars, and teleconferences.
• Provide input into court treatment planning and report on progress in VA services as needed, including treatment-related toxicology testing when indicated.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including annual leave, sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment.
• Potential childcare subsidy for eligible full-time employees after 60 days of employment.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting.
• Federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior