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.
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: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: United States 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. 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/. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 (Above Full Performance Level): 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. (d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). (e) 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 GS12 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.] Preferred Experience: Case management and experience in suicide prevention. 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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
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 The Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) facilitates the implementation of suicide prevention strategies at a local level through education, monitoring, and coordination of activities. Duties may include but are not limited to: The SPC is responsible for tracking and reporting all suicide attempts and completions at the facility. The SPC is responsible for maintaining a facility "high-risk" list which identifies patients who have been deemed at-risk for suicide, per consultation with clinicians. The SPC exclusively controls the Category I Patient Record Flag as it relates to suicide and limits its use to patients who meet the criteria of being placed on the facility high risk list. The SPC maintains the list of patients who have a Category I Patient Record Flag for suicide and reviews the list at least every 90 days. The SPC should participate in the aggregate suicide Root Cause Analyses (RCA's) and individual RCA's concerning patients who have attempted or committed suicide. The SPC should be involved in the Environment of Care (EOC) Safety Survey. The SPC is required to assist the EOC Safety Survey team in determining actions that should be taken to improve the mental health inpatient environment. The SPC is responsible for updating and revising, as necessary, local policies related to suicide prevention training, documentation, and suicide risk assessments. This shall be in coordination with ACOS MHSL. The SPC is responsible for following up on consults received from the Veterans Crisis Line to assure timely access to care and follow-up for patients in crisis. When an appointment is needed, and when possible, the SPC should meet the veteran at the door to make sure they are seen and evaluated in a timely manner. When needed, the SPC assists with and expedites veteran enrollment into the VA, and ensure suicide screening and evaluation requirements are met. The SPC will contact Veterans who have been identified as surviving an attempt or who are identified as being high risk. Personal contact will be made with the veteran and the SPC will establish US mail contact with him/her in order to provide an "enhanced care" model of prevention which maintains communication with the veteran. The SPC documents, when appropriate, the nature of follow-up and plans for continuing treatment in the electronic medical record. The SPC is responsible for assisting in the suicide risk assessment (if clinical consultation is necessary) in individual patients in conjunction with the treating clinician and managing the Category I Patient Record Flag for patients at high risk for suicide. The SPC is responsible for continued contact and monitoring with Veterans that have been identified as high-risk for suicide to assure continued care and treatment. The SPC is responsible for coordinating with providers continued contact and monitoring with Veterans that have been identified as high-risk for suicide to assure continued care and treatment. The SPC ensures that patients identified as being at high risk for suicide receive follow up for any missed mental health and substance abuse appointments in conjunction with the clinical treatment team, and that this follow-up is documented by the MH treatment providers in the electronic medical record. The SPC is responsible for following-up on referrals received from staff as a result of the SAVE training. Other duties and tasks as assigned. Work Schedule: Full time. Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm. 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 Keele.Adams@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. 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) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.