Summary

The Senior Social Worker is essential in the provision of health & mental health services across the continuum of care. In addition - VA Social Workers facilitate case management services for Veterans who are severely injured or ill - require discharge planning - or are affected by severe and persistent mental illness - homelessness - suicidal ideation - and other risk factors.

Qualifications

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 a 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 Master's 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)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• 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
• Example of GS-11 Experience: Assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse - neglect - exploitation and/or intimate partner violence
• use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policies - handbooks or directives
• and acts as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver.) 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
• Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level - the candidate must fully demonstrate 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
• Assignments
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level
• Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site
• a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center - or a national VHA referral center - such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center - or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity
• The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns
• Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics
• The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans - ensures equity of access - service - and benefits to this population - ensures the care provided is of the highest quality
• Preferred Experience: Familiarity working with Veterans in the Suicide Prevention Program and/or Urgent Care setting - serving Veterans diagnosed with a serious mental illness
• Experience and skill in evidence-based practices is vital for this role - while working in a Veteran Centric environment
• At least two years should be in an area of specialized social work practice in mental health and substance abuse treatment
• The incumbent has a post-2-year independent clinical license or certification by a state at the advanced practice level - which includes an ASWB advanced generalist or clinical examination - unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level
• The Senior Social Worker 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
• 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 physical demands of this position involve active listening - reading - observing - and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior - walking - speaking - bending - carrying light items such as paper - books - small parts - writing reports - writing clinical notes - using office equipment such as computers - telephones - fax machines - photocopy machines - and possibly driving an automobile
• The work is performed in an urgent care clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to communicable diseases common to those present within the Emergency Department or Urgent Care Clinic
• Strenuous physical activity is not required.

Duties

• The Suicide Prevention (SP) Coordinator provides broad support to the Lead Suicide Prevention Coordinator - Mental Health Service Line - Social Work Service Line - and the medical center
• The SP Coordinator maintains a collaborative relationship with the veterans - their family members/ significant others (when applicable and appropriate) - and other healthcare professionals with the goal of coordinating care and reducing the risk of internal and external non-clinical individuals with the goal of heightening awareness of suicide prevention and reducing the risk of suicide among the veteran population
• The SP Coordinator maintains a caseload of veterans who are assigned to the facility High Risk Flag for Suicide list (HRF) and ensures that they are followed by the Mental Health Service Line for a period of 90 days following hospitalization or 90 days from the date of assignment to the High-Risk Flag List
• The incumbent is responsible for completing the following duties/responsibilities: Maintains a caseload of High-Risk Veterans - providing case management and enhanced care
• Responds to crisis callers and other clinicians regarding Veterans at immediate risk
• Participates in daily interdisciplinary meetings with the Suicide Prevention Team and weekly meetings to review Consults to Suicide Prevention Program for Veterans to be deemed high risk for Suicide - provide Veteran outreach up to 90 days on a monthly - bi-monthly - or monthly basis
• Develops a plan of care to link high-risk veterans to a mental health access clinic or specialty clinic
• Serves as subject matter expert in Root Cause Analysis Teams on a rotating basis with other SP Team members
• Participates in monthly National SPC calls
• Completes Behavioral Autopsy after completed suicide
• Monitoring the record of Veteran - ensuring compliance with appointments
• Assures that all High-Risk Veterans and staff have familiarity and access to the 24-hour Veteran Crisis Line number 988
• Works with community resources such as Veteran Service Organizations and Vet Centers to assure that they are aware of warning and risk factors of a High-Risk Veteran and providing subsequent education for getting these Veterans assistance
• Assesses and evaluates Veteran's suicidal risk factors and severity of symptoms to make decisions regarding the level of care and type of interventions needed to prevent suicide
• This can be done face­-to-face - over the phone - or via record reviews
• Participates in the development of an ongoing education plan for Mental Health Service Line - Facility Health Care Providers - Veterans - families - and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide - and treatment options
• Serves as a subject matter expert on Suicide Prevention and consults as needed to inpatient and outpatient providers
• May participate in Team Meetings on a regular or as-needed basis
• Provides education and training throughout the facility
• Participates in Suicide Prevention Outreach events - providing education and materials to community partners and other agencies
• Participates in monthly meetings with VISN-wide Patient Safety and SPCs
• Total Rewards of an Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm - Monday - Friday 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 Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #:25223-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized