Senior Social Worker- Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program

Veterans Health Administration • White City, OR

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Social Worker works in the Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP), providing evidence-based psychotherapy, psychoeducation, and treatment coordination to resident Veterans experiencing complex mental health, addiction, behavioral, physical, psychosocial, and environmental challenges. The role involves independent psychosocial assessment and intervention, caseload management, and collaboratively developing treatment plans and goals with Veterans. The Social Worker coordinates care from admission through discharge, helping Veterans reconnect with a community of their choice and coordinating with the treatment team and community-based service providers. The position also includes crisis intervention, family engagement, consultation with staff, and professional supervision of social workers who need supervision for licensure. The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is not virtual, and telework is unavailable.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); 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 grandfathered under the applicable state rules; California licensees must meet California’s advanced-practice clinical examination requirements.
• Ability to provide supervision for licensure.
• At least two years of experience after advanced-practice clinical licensure in a specialized area of social work practice, including one year equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• Demonstrated skill in specialized interventions and treatment modalities, including individual, group, and/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 social work practice and services, using outcome evaluations to improve treatment and design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on psychosocial treatment and model effective social work practice.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in social work and write policies, procedures, or practice guidelines for the service delivery area.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• U.S. citizenship, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical evaluation and complete required background/security investigation and onboarding requirements.
• Must meet application and identification requirements, including REAL ID-compliant identification where applicable.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to evaluation and written certification for continued employment.

Nice To Haves

• Certification or post-master’s training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university in a specialty area, including a defined curriculum or course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Independently conduct psychosocial assessments and provide psychosocial interventions, measuring outcomes.
• Independently implement the recovery model of treatment.
• Carry a caseload, develop treatment plans, establish treatment goals collaboratively with Veterans, and guide care toward those goals.
• Coordinate treatment and discharge planning from admission through discharge, working closely with the treatment team and helping Veterans reconnect with their chosen communities.
• Provide treatment coordination for residential Veterans, including daily group treatment coordination meetings for the assigned caseload.
• Meet individually with assigned Veterans at least once every other week.
• Provide at least 15 hours of group treatment per week and supplemental individual sessions as needed and recommended by the treatment team.
• Coordinate community-based services, including referrals to VA programs, government programs, and community agencies.
• Independently identify high-risk patients and provide crisis intervention that addresses underlying causes as well as presenting concerns.
• Coordinate family conferences and serve as a liaison to family members.
• Establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families.
• Provide individual, group, and family counseling and therapy for patients and families experiencing psychiatric, medical, and social problems.
• Consult with other staff regarding Veterans’ psychosocial needs and how psychosocial problems affect health care and adherence to treatment plans.
• Evaluate own practice through professional peer review, case conferences, and other organizational methods.
• Communicate effectively in writing and orally with people from varied backgrounds.
• Provide supervision for social workers who require supervision for licensure.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), subject to individual eligibility and application approval; award may be up to $200,000 for an eligibility period of one to five years.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered based on higher or unique qualifications or VA needs.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, comprising 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual for prior work or military service, subject to request and approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment for birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Potential childcare subsidy after 60 days for eligible full-time employees with total family income below $144,000; subsidy may cover up to 25% of eligible childcare costs, up to a monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting, and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

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