Senior Social Worker - PCMHI EDRP Approved

01Basic 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 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/.

Advanced practice level social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which includes 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.

All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

02Grade 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.

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. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. 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.

03Preferred Experience

Case Management Assessments and Interventions Treatment plan development Supportive Therapy and Psychotherapy Working With Clients Living with Serious Mental Illness Providing Brief Evidence Based Psychotherapy Reference: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II, App G39. 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.

04Physical Requirements

Light lifting: under 15 pounds; straight pulling (up to 1 hour); pushing (1- 2 hours); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; walking (up to 3 hours); standing (up to 3 hours); repeated bending (up to 1 hour); ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision and far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; both eyes required for depth perception; ability to distinguish basic colors, ability to distinguish shades of colors, hearing (aid permitted); climbing stairs; mentally alert; both legs required for operation of motor vehicle; and frequent keyboarding to operate a computer.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Primary Purpose of the Position is: Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) is a term Veterans Affairs uses to describe a set of mental and behavioral health care services that are provided to Veterans in collaboration with primary care providers. These services are fully integrated into the primary care setting and support treatment of both mental health conditions and behavioral aspects of chronic medical conditions.

PCMHI groups seamlessly combine evidence-based care management and co-located collaborative care components.The Senior Social Worker supports PCMHI Program by providing brief, 20 to 30 minutes sessions, normally three to six sessions, providing intensive case management, psychotherapy engagement to ensure continuity of care. The Senior Social Worker provides case management and psychotherapy interventions to promote sustained mental health stabilization.

The Senior Social Worker is an expert at the community mental health resources and available to assist all staff and Veterans who are receiving care from the medical and mental health Team by linking them to supportive resources found within Veterans Affairs and the community at large. Duties may include but are not limited to: The incumbent performs specialized treatment of physical or mental illness as it relates to mental health illness, severe mental health illness and comorbid substance use disorders.

Incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved scope of practice. The incumbent expands clinical knowledge in the profession, demonstrating innovation in the creation of new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address specialized clinical needs of mental health, severe mental health, substance use disorders and comorbid diagnoses.

Ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the specialty population or specialty treatment program. The incumbent develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services, utilizing outcome evaluations and use of evidence-based treatment modalities that are effective with Veterans who demonstrate signs of mental health illness, comorbid and substance use disorders along with medically and psychiatrically conditions.

The incumbent also provides specialized assessments, and treatment planning, as well as mental health, substance use disorders and comorbid consultation, to other team members to provide interventions and strategies for engagement for clients. The incumbent independently conducts comprehensive assessments and develops treatment plans in collaboration with Veteran, family, and interdisciplinary treatment team.

The incumbent will monitor e-consults, complete assessments, and make recommendations to the Mental Health Division Outpatient Teams in addition to provide direct clinical care to Veterans demonstrating mental health illness, substance use disorder and comorbid concerns. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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: Not authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 54443-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized