Social Worker

Job Title: Social Worker

Department: Rehabilitation, Workforce and Youth

Employee Status: Exempt Professional-Learned Professional

Reports to: Senior Director of Social Work

Primary Location (s): 500 Greenwich Street, the community and Virtual

Send resume & cover letter to: Taisha Ortiz, Senior Director

of Social Work, tortiz@visionsvcb.org

Why You’ll Love Working at VISIONS

• Mission-driven team environment committed to visibility and impact
• Generous benefits: health, dental and vision insurance through Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, with minimal cost to the employee.Retirement plan with 5% employer match after the first year of employment with no employee match required.
• four weeks paid vacation + 14 sick days, four personal days and twelve paid holidays
• Agency-sponsored prep for NYS licensure and exam as well as continuing education
• Flexible and inclusive workplace with accommodations provided throughout the hiring and employment process
• Salary range: $67,000 to $72,000 Annually

Summary

The Social Worker will be joining a dynamic team of seasoned, Licensed social workers who have a highly successful track record of providing quality services to individuals who are new to vision loss, re-entering the workforce or who are in immediate need of obtaining benefits.

This position encompasses three distinct components: social casework with participants and their families, assistance with benefits, and outreach to recruit potential participants.

The Social Worker offers time-limited adjustment to blindness counseling and case assistance to people who are blind or visually impaired of all ages. The Social Worker serves as a bridge between participants with vision loss, other service providers and VISIONS. People who are Visually impaired or blind often need advocates to assist with accessing community based mental health or health services. The Social Worker locates benefits and programs, makes a referral and facilitates acceptance of identified services. The Social Worker provides adjustment to blindness counseling with participants who are having difficulty adjusting to their vision loss as well as counsels their family to support the participant’s independence at school, home, work and in the community. Individual and group approaches may be used.

In the area of community outreach and training, the Social Worker plans, organizes, implements and documents outreach, public education and community activities to recruit participants through referrals from other agencies.

The Social Worker may need to work throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester or the Lower Hudson Valley and Long Island.

The Social Worker accomplishes these responsibilities with dependability, initiative, and creativity. This position requires a strong ability to multitask. This position also requires solid interpersonal skills, an ability to work well with an interdisciplinary team, careful attention to detail and the treating of personal information with confidentiality.

Many responsibilities of this role can be performed virtually with approval of immediate supervisor and either COO, CEO or CPO. The Social Worker will be required to meet with participants in person at their place of residence or one of VISIONS offices, as per participant preference and New York State Commission for the Blind requirements. Site visits to government and other agencies may be required as well.

Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

• Maintain a minimum caseload of 25 participants.
• Provide adjustment to blindness counseling with individuals and their families

who are having difficulty dealing with their vision loss

• Provide short-term crisis intervention for individuals who are newly blind or

visually impaired

• Conduct needs assessment and provide assistance with linkage to entitlements

and benefits for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Examples of

benefits or services individuals may be linked to include: SSI, Food Stamps,

Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security Disability, housing, meals-on-wheels

and homecare

• Offer assistance to participants with completing all required paperwork including applications for benefits and services
• Maintain records and complete reports required by funding sources and/or VISIONS
• Meet with participants and/or family members to address problems and concerns

related to rehabilitation services individually or in groups

• Complete assessments with participants over the telephone, video conference, at one of VISIONS offices or in their home
• Answer general information calls about all VISIONS services
• Participate in agency outreach and public education activities when assigned
• Identify individuals who can benefit from other VISIONS services
• Establish collaborative relationships with other nonprofit organizations
• Conduct presentations or training for nonprofit service providers or groups who

may have visually impaired or blind members

• Take part in professional development activities from both a participant and

presenter perspective

• Complete all required written reports in compliance with standardized

departmental guidelines: submit reports in a timely fashion

• Maybe required to work some evenings and weekends
• Provide services during programs at VCB as assigned by the Senior Director of Social work and/or the Senior Director of VRT and Outreach
• Participate in special projects/grant projects as assigned
• Attend trainings as requested for organizational/department needs and to maintain social work licensure.
• Maintain social work Licensure
• Conduct initial intakes for the department as needed
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

1. Master’s Degree in Social Work. Familiarity or interest in working with people

with disabilities. Licensed by NYS or eligible to take the licensure exam. Must

be licensed within one year of hire

1. fluency in another language, including American Sign Language, is strongly preferred but not necessary
2. Good written, spoken, and telephone communication skills
3. Good organizational skills
4. Ability to relate well with people of diverse cultural backgrounds
5. computer literacy in Microsoft Office or the Google Suite