Summary

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.

Qualifications

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: Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part)
• English Language Proficiency - Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. §
• 7403(f)
• 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
• License - You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• 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 when determining the grade of candidates: 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
• Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence
• use of clinical social work skills
• maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives
• acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver
• independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity
• Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment
• Licensure: Senior social workers must be licensed 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
• Preferred Experience: Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program - general mental health psychotherapy
• Training in evidence-based psychotherapy
• Couple and/or family therapy experience
• 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-12
• Physical Requirements: The work is sometimes sedentary
• Typically, the employee will sit to perform administrative work
• However, other position duties include physical requirements which include but not limited to, long periods of walking
• standing
• bending
• crouching, reaching, and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts
• or driving an automobile, etc
• No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

Duties

• 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 Duties included but not limited to: Providing entry-level services for Veterans of all service eras
• Formulating and providing individual and group treatments
• Preparing initial and updated treatment plans
• Provides care coordination and planning for follow-up care after completion of treatment
• Provides ethical individual, group and family mental health services to eligible combat and non-combat Veterans experiencing mental health symptoms
• Adheres to Trauma Informed Care principles assuming the existence of a trauma history along with resilience
• Participates in Measurement Based Care
• Participates in Tele-mental health or similar activities to provide service for Veterans who are located a prohibitive distance from VA facilities
• Provides psychodiagnostic services including psychosocial assessment, and using the most appropriate evidence-based psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care in the delivery of a full range of psychosocial and multidisciplinary services in BHIP
• Work Schedule: 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized, Recruitment incentive may be paid to a Highly Qualified candidate
• Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Authorized, Relocation incentive may be paid to a Highly Qualified candidate
• EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact VISN10HREDRPSLRP@va.gov , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #:92844-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized