The Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) is an outpatient service with the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program (PSR )program within the Mental Health service at the VA Northern California Health Care System. The Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) provides state-of-the-art behavioral health programming and services for Veterans based on the psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery model. 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). 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. Licensure: Maintains a valid driver's license and clean driving record. The incumbent's driving record will be reviewed through the California Department of Motor Vehicle's Employer Pull Notice (EPN) program annually to ensure Veteran and staff safety. 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: Hearing (aids permitted) required. ["Work Schedule: Full Time; Monday to Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PST; Subject to change to meet the needs of the Agency Telework: Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required The Senior Social Worker works collaboratively and collegially within a multidisciplinary Veteran-centered team, providing psychosocial rehabilitation services to Veterans living with severe mental illness using evidence-based practices in a recovery-oriented treatment setting with a focus on community integration. PRRC services include: 1) a wide range of rehabilitation and recovery services for Veteran with serious mental illness (SMI); 2) collaboration and advocacy for Veterans with SMI and their family members; and 3) education and training of staff, Veterans, families, and community members to promote the transition from maintenance models of treatment to the contemporary rehabilitation and recovery model. Duties for the position may include but are not limited to: Act as the primary mental health provider for Veterans with SMI. Provides specialized services, meeting with Veterans individually to complete assessments, develop/update recovery treatment plans, plan for transition/discharge, and perform other care management functions. Provides individual and group therapy to Veterans with SMI. Provides psychoeducational and skill-building groups for Veterans with SMI and their families. Provides wellness and prevention education and facilitates Veteran/family support groups as appropriate. Provides consultation/education to Veterans and families on community and VA resources. Make referrals to a variety of VA and non-VA resources in support of the rehabilitation objectives of the Veteran. Provides services to advance appropriate vocational skills development in accordance with the Veteran's rehabilitation goals. Acts as a consultant to other staff members in the PRRC and in the Mental Health Service Line on psychosocial rehabilitation. Assists Veterans and their families in the preparation of materials needed for applications to various agencies for entitlements. Serves as the PRRC consultant for information on negotiating processes Veterans/families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies. Works assertively and consistently with inpatient and other behavioral health teams to assure continuity of care by providing consultation regarding clinical needs, plans of care, and care management for Veterans enrolled in PRRC. Attends and participates in PRRC and Mental Health Clinic staff meetings and participates on committees within PRRC as necessary. May supervise and participate in the training of social workers, social work associates, peer support staff, volunteers, and students. Assists the PRRC Program Manager in designing and developing psychosocial rehabilitation services for the PRRC. Assists the PRRC Program Manager to collect PRRC outcome data and to maintain program data in a manner which adheres to Council on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), The Joint Commission, VHA, and medical center standards, policies, and procedures. Completes assigned Performance Improvement activities at the program, service line and medical center level. May participate when indicated in PRRC specific MH outreach activities and events. Other duties as assigned. This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and may be posted up to September 30, 2024. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be February 1, 2024, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st and 15th of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled."]
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.
