The Senior Social Worker is a member of the Behavioral Health Team for the Amarillo Mental Health Service at the Thomas E. Creek Amarillo VAHCS in Amarillo, Texas. The position will be divided among several roles: 40% of time as the Local Recovery Coordinator, 40% time as the Health Behavior Coordinator and 20% of the time performing clinical roles such as assessments and treatment.
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 the master's degree in 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. 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: GS-12 Senior Social Worker 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: 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. Preferred Experience: Completed competency-based training in and has one year of experience in delivering Evidenced-Based Psychotherapies (EBPs) for Depression (i.e., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), Anxiety Disorders (Unified Protocol, CBT for Anxiety), PTSD (i.e, CPT, Prolonged Exposure), Substance Use Disorder (i.e., CBT SUD), Chronic Pain (i.e., CBT-Chronic Pain), or Borderline Personality Disorder (i.e., Dialectical Behavior Therapy). At least 1 year experience in conducting psychosocial diagnostic evaluations using DSM-V and evaluations to aid in differential diagnosis. At least one-year experience working with Veterans providing behavioral health interventions Reference can be found at the VA Qualification Repository, VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185, Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting/carrying (under 15 lbs); Walking/Standing (up to 5 hours); Kneeling (half hour); Emotional and Mental Stability; Cognitive Stability
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Duties include, but are not limited to: - Develop, sustain, and align a facility Recovery Transformation/Sustainment Strategic Plan driving person-centered recovery-oriented care throughout their local medical center. - Act as the subject matter expert (SME) for providing education to staff, Veterans, families, and/or the community on recovery, serious mental illness and psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery. - SME for development and implementation of peer support services. - Leader and participant in facility and community committees as a SME on serious mental illness and psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery. - Provide health behavior change training and consultation to clinical staff. - Must possess a working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. - Leading, coordinating and delivering NCP-supported MI training programs and providing ongoing follow-up skills training to primary care clinicians and other staff as needed. - Collaborate with Primary Care leadership, Primary Care-Mental Health Integration and other clinical staff to ensure effective coordination of behavioral interventions and programming (e.g. pain, sleep, stress, tobacco cessation, healthy eating) with mental health intervention and programming, to help Veterans in their efforts to adopt healthy behaviors and reduce risky behavior. - Demonstrate an understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients including geriatric patients related to physical limitations, psychological needs and age associated illnesses and conditions. The incumbent must have an understanding of the problems of advancing age and respect for the diversification of the aging Veteran population, being sensitive to human growth and development, age-appropriate needs and concerns of the geriatric Veteran population. - Must independently complete thorough assessments to determine the functioning and needs of Veterans and their families. The incumbent must be able to utilize this assessment in facilitating the Veteran's maximum use of treatment for attainment of the highest level of independence that is possible and practicable. - Coordinate discharges from inpatient and residential treatment to ensure continuity of care between levels of care. - Must possess and demonstrate ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing with people from varied backgrounds. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm 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: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker Behavioral Health Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized