This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work. 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 SW Licensure Summary by State. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS- 0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they return later to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. Grade Determinations: GS-12 Experience. Candidates must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all the following KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. This position is restricted to those serving as a full assistant to the chief social work service for both administrative and professional practice. At the GS-12 grade level, individuals are typically assigned as an assistant chief of a small to moderately complex social work service within the organization. Preferred Experience: Experience with VAMC outpatient Mental Health Clinics in the main campus, and/or Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's) and rural areas. Experience with treatment of Special Population of veterans with high risk of chronic suicidality with a wide range of mental health problems, including serious mental illnessExperience with serving veterans with a full range of mental health assessment services for diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders.Experience with comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapyExperience with collaboration working within the assigned interdisciplinary treatment team with community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients and families. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is the GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf The SP Coordinator maintains a caseload of veterans who are assigned to the facility High Risk Flag for Suicide list (HRF) and assure that they are followed by Mental Health Service Line for a period of 90 days following hospitalization or 90 days from the date of assignment to the High-Risk Flag List. Major Duties: Maintains a caseload of High-Risk Veterans, providing case management and enhanced care. Responds to crisis callers and other clinicians regarding Veterans at immediate risk. Participates in daily interdisciplinary meetings with Suicide Prevention Team and weekly meetings to review Consults to Suicide Prevention Program for Veterans to be deemed high risk for Suicide, provide Veteran outreach up to 90 days on a monthly, bi-monthly, or monthly basis. Develops plan of care to link high risk veterans to mental health access clinic or specialty clinic. Serves as subject matter expert in Root Cause Analysis Teams on a rotating basis with other SP Team members. Participates in monthly National SPC calls. Completes Behavioral Autopsy after completed suicide. Monitoring the record of Veteran, ensuring compliance with appointments. Assures that all High-Risk Veterans and staff have familiarity and access to the 24-hour Veteran Crisis Line number 988. Works with community resources such as Veteran Service Organizations and Vet Centers to assure that they are aware of warning and risk factors of a High-Risk Veteran and providing subsequent education for getting these Veterans assistance. Assesses and evaluates Veteran's suicidal risk factors and severity of symptoms to make decisions regarding the level of care and type of interventions needed to prevent suicide. This can be done face-to-face, over the phone, or via record reviews. Participates in the development of an ongoing education plan for Mental Health Service Line, Facility Health Care Providers, Veterans, families, and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide, and treatment options. Serves as a subject matter expert on Suicide Prevention and consults as needed to inpatient and outpatient providers. May participate in Team Meetings on a regular or an as needed basis. Provides education and training throughout the facility. Participates in Suicide Prevention Outreach events providing education and materials to community partners and other agencies. Participates in monthly meetings with VISN-wide Patient Safety and SPCs. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact george.kinek@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for 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: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000"]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.