Summary

This position is eligible for 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 your start date. Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) and eligibility period (1 to 5 years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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: 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
• 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/
• 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
• Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator) - GS-12 Experience and Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment - demonstrating progressively more professional competency
• Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship - or equivalent supervised professional experience
• Licensure/Certification: Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level - and must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation - negotiation - and monitoring
• Knowledge and ability to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines for the program
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program
• Skill in organizing work - setting priorities - meeting multiple deadlines - and evaluating assigned program area(s)
• Ability to provide training - orientation - and guidance within clinical practice
• 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
• Program coordinators at the GS-12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area - such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury - Homeless Continuum Veteran Program - Hospice and Palliative Care Program - Suicide Prevention Program - Veterans Justice Outreach - Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program
• The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area
• The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program - develop policies and procedures for program operation - and prepare reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They may be responsible for the program's budget - developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice - standards and guidelines on documentation - workload - data entry - ethical practice and service delivery
• The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service
• They may be responsible for - or contribute to - the program's resource and fiscal management - monitoring control points developing the annual budget - operating within that budget - and accounting for appropriated funds
• The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They provide leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned staff
• They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports - including productivity assessments
• They oversee program operations and evaluations - identifying areas for improvement - gathering relevant data - assessing the data - developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: Light lifting - under 15 pounds - moderate carrying - 15-44 pounds - use of fingers - walking - standing - near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4 - far vision correctable in one eye 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other - both eyes required - hearing (aid may be permitted) and emotional/mental stability
• Environmental Factors include working outside and inside - dry atmospheric conditions - working closely with others and working alone.

Duties

• Primary Care- Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Duties: Provides functional assessment - triage - brief intervention - education and consultative services regarding a wide range of mental health and behavioral medicine concerns - on referral from primary care providers and allied PACT members
• Uses population-based practice management strategies and maintains competences in the following core domains
• Conduct functional assessments - based on 30-minute appointments - and will triage/refer to specialty care services as appropriate
• Demonstrates expertise in using contemporary interview and psychometric assessment methods for mental disorders or behavioral health conditions
• Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions and behavioral medicine interventions - which may include individual - family - and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation
• Develops comprehensive treatment plans in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members documenting patient-generated concerns and goals - measurable objectives - and interventions for clinical treatment
• Provides psychological assessment - triage - intervention - education - and consultative services
• Documents independently in the medical records utilizing paper or electronic formats - including psychosocial assessments - diagnostics - treatment - progress notes - follow up - and referral
• Routinely consults with PCPs and other PACT team members about plan of care for patients
• Integrates within primary care team and works closely in collaboration with PACT team - attending daily and regularly recurring meetings and huddles
• Actively engages and provides feedback to PCP and other PACT team members with same day referrals and warm hand-offs
• Provides education to PACT on MH issues as well as consultation on tips for successful management of mental health symptoms and concerns impacting medical conditions
• Serves as a mentor to other Psychologist colleagues - particularly those at the entry level
• Is viewed by colleagues and interdisciplinary team members as a senior clinician with advanced practice skills and expertise
• May provide clinical supervision for unlicensed Psychologists or Psychology trainees at the practicum or internship level
• May participate in Psychology Training Committee
• Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Duties: Provide education and outreach regarding the PAWS Pilot and develop resources for the local Pilot program working closely on program evaluation - in consultation with VACO PAWS Pilot Program Coordinator and conduct continuous quality improvement activities
• Develop and implement information systems to track service activities
• Responsible for ensuring the facility is executing the PAWS Act - and report to the National PAWS Program Manager on the overall administrative oversight - the clinical programming and daily operations of the program
• Responsibilities will require the gathering of data and other requested information - developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice - standards and guidelines on documentation - workload - data entry - ethical practice - and service delivery
• Provide training to VA staff and the community on the PAWS portal
• Create educational tools - develop programs and implement training related to PAWS
• Work Schedule: Monday Thru Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more 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
• 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
• Telework: AD-HOC Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized