MSW Social Worker
Belleville, New Jersey
Clara Maass Medical Center

LSW/MSW - Behavioral Health

Overview

• Location: Belleville, New Jersey
• Employment type: Travel/Contract
• Contract length: 13 weeks
• Shift: Day, 5 x 7.5 hours (8:00 to 16:00)
• Weekend requirement: None
• Setting: Community acute-care hospital offering inpatient behavioral health services for adults and older adults, including voluntary and involuntary units focused on psychiatric stabilization. Treatment programs include individual, group, and family therapy, medication management, creative arts and recreational therapy, grief and loss counseling, and pet therapy.

Required Qualifications

• Valid Master of Social Work license in New Jersey
• Master's degree in social work
• 2 years of experience as a Master of Social Work
• Master of Social Work experience within the last year
• CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) Training Certificate or Handle with Care Training Certificate
• Experience with involuntary commitment or legal hold procedures
• Family therapy experience
• Group therapy experience
• Experience with Epic

Clinical Responsibilities

• Psychiatric assessment: 5150/involuntary holds, intake and admission screenings, biopsychosocial assessments, initial evaluations, treatment plan participation, suicide, homicide, and self-harm assessment
• Care coordination: Discharge planning, care conferences, referrals to other disciplines and resources (including rehab and long-term care facilities), coordination with internal and external team members
• Counseling: Individual, group, and family therapy; discharge and contingency planning; multidisciplinary continuity of care
• Documentation and education: Discharge summaries, plan-of-care documentation, patient and caregiver education

Unit Details

• Ratio: 1:12
• Patient population: Adults and geriatrics with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, mood disorders, neurocognitive disorders, and psychotic disorders
• Floating: May cover groups and overflow from other inpatient units as needed
• Dress code: Black scrubs or business casual

Scheduling and Policies

• Call-off policy: Facility may call off 1 shift per 2 weeks
• Time-off and schedule requests: Priority goes to submissions that include a screenshot confirming requests. No requests will be approved after offer.
• First-time travelers: Accepted
• Local candidates: Accepted

Pre-Start Requirements

• Background checks: Criminal background check within 30 days of start, including SS trace, sex offender, county, state, federal, OFAC, and FACIS Level 3 searches. Attestations are not accepted, and candidates cannot start with open cases.
• Exclusion checks: EPLS/GSA/SAM and HHS/OIG within 30 days of start, updated for every extension. New Jersey Department of Treasury Exclusions List within 30 days of start and required for extensions.
• Identity and eligibility: Government-issued photo ID within 48 hours of signing. E-Verify required to clear.
• Work history: New Jersey requires verification of at least 1 year of work history before the start date, with gaps of 30 days or less. A 7-year work history must be accounted for in the application or resume, with supplementary documentation for any gaps.
• References: 2 references from the last 2 years, at least one managerial.
• Drug screen: 10-panel urine drug screen within 30 days of start. Blood tests are not accepted.
• Training: Annual education sign-off completed before start.

Health Requirements

• Physical exam: Within the past 12 months, stating the clinician is cleared for essential job functions and is free of communicable disease
• TB screening: Either one TB blood test within 3 months of start, or a 2-step TB skin test (first step within 12 months, second step within 3 months). Positive TB history requires additional respiratory assessment and documentation.
• Influenza: Vaccine or medical/religious exemption required annually (September 1 to April 30). Pre-start deadline is 9/15/2026, and working-candidate deadline is 12/4/2026. Declinations are not accepted.
• Immunity documentation: Rubeola (measles), mumps, rubella, and varicella (positive IgG titer or documented 2-dose vaccine series), hepatitis B (immunity titer, or vaccine series or declination), and Tdap within the past 10 years
• Respiratory and fit testing: Respirator medical clearance and on-site fit testing required for all candidates