The incumbent works for the Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Fredericksburg, Virginia, as a direct report to the Suicide Prevention Program, and is assigned to the Mental Health Service Line. This position is responsible for coordinating the care of high-risk patients, providing case management-based services necessary to ensure that Veteran care is coordinated within the VA Medical Center, Community Based Outpatients Clinics (CBOC's) and/or appropriate community agencies. 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. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. 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. Note: 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. Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work 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. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience: 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 and 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 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: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-39 Social Worker Qualification Standard GS-185. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12 . Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, typing, and carrying light items. ["Major duties include, but are not limited to: Clinical Duties: Interviews Clients and Conducts Psychosocial Assessments: Interviews Veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the Veteran's situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veteran's functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. Interprets and explains VA's treatment and benefit programs. Makes Psychosocial Diagnoses Assesses Risk and Risk Severity- on inpatient/outpatient basis Implements Treatment Monitors Consult Service and assigns cases in absence of program manager or Suicide Prevention Coordinators Evaluation, Education, Supervision, Coaching, and Mentoring Coordinate with mental health providers, other treatment staff, and program managers through ongoing communication to ensure necessary components in the veteran's care plan address ongoing assessment of suicide risk, review of safety plans, etc. Ensures the required frequency of mental health appointments are in place for Veterans assigned a patient record flag for high risk of suicide through such ongoing communication. Assure all Veterans assigned a patient record flag for high risk of suicide are followed properly by appropriate providers through the duration of flag assignment. Assist in Program Management and Care coordination: Coordinates interdisciplinary staff engagement for the purpose of maximizing care and collateral services and reducing risk Monitor outcomes and implement performance improvement using a data obtained via REACH VET, SAIL, and other clinical tools Develops and monitors quality improvement measures. The incumbent formulates and implements an internal evaluation process through which progress toward goals and objectives can be objectively monitored. Implements changes based on the results of evaluations and performs impact assessments of these changes. Ensures that any required external evaluation of the program is submitted within established time frames. Serves as a REACH VET Coordinator, with other assigned staff within the Suicide Prevention Program, ensuring that REACH VET identified Veterans receive the treatment model, as per VA policy, and working with the Veterans' treatment provides to educate about REACH VET, and support implementation. Public speaking in outreach events and trainings. Assist in coordination and participation in outreach events in the community, requiring travel within the Central Virginia catchment area. Community outreach events may occur outside of normal tour of duty, to include occasional weekend and/or evening events. Assist with the compiling and tracking of data from various data collection points for the purpose of program evaluation and performance improvement. Completes Behavioral Health Autopsy Reports, Family Interview Tool - Contact forms, Issue Briefs, and Heads Up Memoranda as required. Performs other duties as assigned. Total-Rewards-Social Worker Career Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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 (AD-HOC only) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: N/A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized"]
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.
