Career Center

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. 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. Learn more 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 masters 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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 carefully 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 of 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: Such 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 of 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 choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should 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. Licensure/Certification. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of 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. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking, sitting, talking, use of fingers, both hands required, Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, Hearing (aid permitted). ["**This is an open continuous announcement - qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager(s) at least every 2 weeks.** Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm\nTelework: Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 000000\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for highly qualified candidates\nEDRP Authorized: Contact V21CCOEEDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required The Social Worker functions as the Mental Health Integration into Primary Care - Care Manager. This social worker functions as a case manager, consultant, and educator while providing collaborative care to outpatients in Primary Care. The assessment, collaborative care and case management services provided by this social worker are performed via both telephone and in-person contact with the referred patients via request from the MH-PC Integration psychologist/psychiatrist. The population served includes veteran outpatients with a range of both medical and psychological/behavioral conditions and needs. Duties of the position include, but are not limited to: Performs specialized assessments in care management associated with the integration of physical and psychological health and functioning. Conducts brief assessments (typically 30min or less) with focus on the identified referral need and triages patient needs appropriately. Obtain a health history of the referred patients, as needed. Provide follow-up care and reassessment of mental health symptoms and will appropriately refer any identified medical needs. Conduct risk evaluations and assist to provide interim care for patients in transition to mental health specialty clinics (e.g., MHC, PCT). Assist in the development of treatment plans. Offers consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialty areas, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Provides consultation to both medical providers and veterans to address psychosocial and behavioral health care needs of the Veteran and in collaboration with interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family and significant others. Ongoing program development, training, and evaluation of delivered services are an essential part of the position. Assist in the development and implementation of patient's treatment plans and will provide follow-up of patient progress with reassessments and collaboration with their mental health primary care providers. Assist in facilitating referrals to specialty mental health programs that provide services for chronic, complex or severe mental health/behavioral conditions that indicate need for longer-term or more intensive treatment and/or management (e.g., Bipolar disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Substance Abuse/Dependence, PTSD, Psychosis). Understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran. Educate and encourage the veteran to advocate on their own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Experienced in making rapid assessments (30min or less) and developing crisis management plans with veteran/family. Coordinate with emergency department social work staff and/or mental health inpatient programs if admission for mental health issues is warranted. Provides education regarding psychological health and wellness, and coordinates with the Health Promotion and Prevention team as needed. Provides patient education in areas of mental illness management/understanding, health promotion, and functional restoration. Provides education related to VA and community resources and will refer veterans to the appropriate interdisciplinary team members for identified resources and health education needs. Provides education to their team and medical center staff on relevant behavioral health topics both informally and via formal presentations. Enters all veteran/family contacts in electronic medical records using appropriate formats and templates in a complete, timely, confidential and professional manner to insure information on the patient is shared with other VA staff. Establish and maintain positive working relationships with employees, volunteers, consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies. Attends all appropriate staff meetings and performs other duties as required. Collaborates in performance improvement processes and complies with performance measures as required by the VA. Participates in activities that obtain feedback from clients and work to enhance services as needed. Completes clinical reminders as appropriate. Other duties as assigned by management."]