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

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/
• Grade Determinations: GS-12 Senior Social Worker 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
• Education and Experience
• 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
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate 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: Social Worker Qualification Standard
• For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation.

Duties

• NOTE: This position is multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Marriage & Family - Senior Social Worker & License Professional Mental Health Counselor
• Each discipline is announced separately - and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified
• Functions and responsibilities include - but are not limited to: Plays a core role in the coordination of client care and Vet Center staff professional development by developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services - utilizing outcome to improve treatment services
• Provides leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development and continuing education programs for staff
• Provides professional expertise delivering advanced practice skills for assessment and treatment of all symptoms associated with psychological trauma - such as Post Traumatic Stress
• Engages clients in a therapeutic relationship - independently conduct a thorough psychosocial assessment and independently develop and implement a readjustment counseling service plan specific to the needs of clients from various socio- economic - cultural - ethnic - educational and other diversified backgrounds
• Intake screening and assessment: Complete all readjustment counseling intake procedures - including an assessment of risk for self-harm - military history and military related psychosocial stressors - and assess family readjustment stressors and document identified behaviors or symptoms
• Readjustment counseling goal setting and service planning: Develop and periodically update an individualized readjustment counseling service plan that reflects a course of therapeutic and psychosocial interventions - including identification of achievable goals and measurable outcomes
• Direct readjustment counseling service provision: Incorporate complex multiple causation in differential psychosocial assessment and direct service delivery to eligible Veterans - including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnostic inferences within the clinical scope of practice
• Risk assessment and crisis intervention: Conduct timely assessment of Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs - evaluate risk - and initiate safety planning as appropriate
• Care coordination: Links the Veteran with other community services - resources - and opportunities to maximize the Veteran's independence - health - and well-being
• Coordinating readjustment counseling and outreach: Maintain active coordination with Vet Center outreach workers to ensure seamless referral to Vet Center services for those individuals engaged in the community at outreach events that may require follow-up readjustment counseling
• Team cohesion and coordination: Actively participate in staff meetings designed to promote team building and staff development
• Documentation/administrative responsibilities/consultation: Document all clinical interactions with eligible individuals and episodes of care coordination on their behalf as required by policy
• Perform other duties that may be assigned Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday thru Friday some evenings and weekends possible - standard operational hours with occasional evenings based on operational need of the facility Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not 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 (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: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 86327A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized