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

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

• 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)
• 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
• (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) Licensure/Certification
• 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/
• (COPY OF LICENSE REQUIRED) 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: 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 - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a)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
• (b)Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• (c)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
• (d)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
• (e)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: Substance Use Disorder
• Trauma focused
• Veteran
• Military
• complex trauma
• co-occurring disorders
• working with homelessness/housing instability
• 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: Work requires light lifting (under 15lbs) - moderate carrying (15-44lbs) - use of fingers - walking - standing - near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4 - far vision correctable in one eye to 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

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Social Worker provides primarily mental health services to the homeless veteran population enrolled in the Alaska VA Healthcare System (AVAHS) Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (MHRRTP)
• Duties include - but are not limited to: Conducts screenings and clinical assessments - interprets VHA guidelines and eligibility requirements - and completes a psychosocial history and assessment
• Develops an appropriate - individualized treatment plan for each veteran assigned to him/her
• Documents the patient assessment and all treatment plans in accordance with the requirements of Mental Health Services (MHS) policy and requirements of various accrediting bodies
• Provides high quality clinical - evidenced based psychotherapy services to all residents enrolled in the MHRRTP
• Provides clinical services - individual and group treatment - and makes appropriate referrals both within the VA and the greater community based on level of care needs - individual goals and treatment planning
• Employs individual and group treatment methods and techniques to maintain a therapeutic relationship that will help the resident work towards the best way of dealing with their problems
• Establishes a continuing relationship with the resident - evaluating progress towards goals - performs follow-up after referral - and adjusts treatment plan when needed
• Monitors resident's progress - maintains comprehensive clinical documentation
• May be assigned supervisory responsibility for one or more student trainees
• May be assigned to clinical supervision for non-licensed social workers to aid in development of professional practice - building conceptualized knowledge - education on ethics - boundaries - self-care and other relevant topics
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 7:30am-4pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: May be 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 (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: Ad-hoc only Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized