The incumbent plays a central role in and is essential to Veteran access to timely and quality care within MH Programs. They work with other clinical staff to triage consultation and treatment requests to MH Programs, including requests for services directly from Veterans, and ensures consults are directed to the appropriate outpatient MHBS treatment program.The incumbent works with the Access Team to administratively coordinate the programming and daily operation of crisis and referral services 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. Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met for this position. 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, the candidate 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The incumbent must also work outdoors in all types of weather. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, and carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle. ["Major Duties: Coordinates and triages disposition of referrals to MHBS Service Line (e.g., Primary Care, Specialty Care, other VA's, and self-referrals); referrals from other MHBS services (e.g., Domiciliary, Homeless Programs and IOP); as well as referrals within MH disciplines. This includes planning, organizing, and directing the administrative, operational, and patient care activities, along with performing and being guided by outcome evaluation data. Coordinating outpatient follow-up for patients discharging from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and/or residential treatment. This includes monitoring and tracking patients discharged from non-VA psychiatric facilities. Tracking of patients to ensure access to appropriate and timely mental health care and providing enhanced care coordination to Veterans. Providing outreach to Veterans flagged as high risk for suicide and not engaged in MH services. This involves working collaboratively with the Suicide Prevention Program. Developing and maintaining a system to ensure follow-up with patients who miss initial consult appointments. Triaging and management of electronic consults received by MHBS to include the timely assignment, scheduling, and closure of the consults. Providing same day and short-term gap coverage in the event a Provider is out of the office or position is vacant to ensure that same access is an option provided to each Veteran. Developing policies and procedures related to Access to Care, including evaluating processes and procedures to ensure timely and effective referral, disposition, and follow-up services. Functioning independently to maximize Access to Care and identify possible barriers to care. Develops a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program to include collecting, analyzing, and reporting program data to management, and as requested preparing reports for the facility, VISN, and VACO. Evaluating program progress and outcomes and utilizing data to continuously modify and improve the program and processes. Using sound judgment in the interpretation of trends and patterns; the application of guidelines; and the recommendation of program enhancements. Ensuring program compliance with safety, policy/procedures, performance measures, and NAVAHCS and VA Mental Health initiatives. Will be available to provide coverage to support Veterans presenting \"in crisis\" and benefitting from Mental Health Services; this includes planning, organizing, and directing the administrative, operational, and patient care activities, along with performing and being guided by outcome evaluation data. Monitoring and ensuring appropriate distribution of workload in consultation with MH Access Manager, MHBS Medical Director and MHBS SLM. Developing policies and procedures related to MH Crisis services and knowledge and ability to facilitate emergency interventions like involuntary hospitalizations, guardianship, and other related areas. Providing direct Veteran, family, and Caregiver assessment to identify and assess risk, safety, supports, and develop a treatment plan in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Knowledge and expertise in assessment and treatment planning of Veterans with geriatric related issues. Uses professional judgment, including the knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior, which is an inherent competency applied in daily interactions with clients. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000007 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: An incentive may be authorized for highly qualified candidates."]
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.