The Caregivers Support Community Mental Health Social Worker is assigned to the Fayetteville VA Medical Center and provides services to Veteran and their Caregivers with the Caregivers Support Program. The incumbent serves the Caregiver and those Veterans with severe and persistent mental illness who are part of the Caregivers Support Program. The incumbent will conduct community visits to the Veteran's Home that are currently enrolled in Caregiver Support Program.
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: 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/. 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: Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 GS-12 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: Experience in conducting home visits, completing assessments and case management. 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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 to GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Independently conducts psychosocial assessments in the Veteran's home and/or at the nearest VA location. Incumbent utilizes the most recent addition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V) as the basis for diagnostic impressions and conclusions. Develops person-centered, culturally sensitive treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family to address mental health needs of Veterans. Incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions. Incumbent complies with national and local performance mandates, including timely health care screening and completion of applicable clinical reminders for all Veterans. Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening Veterans for psychosocial needs. Incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups. Psychotherapy will be evidence-based in nature whenever available for a particular condition, and the incumbent will utilize best practices to the extent possible in all Veteran care interactions. Provides ongoing assessment of substance abuse issues and refers to appropriate treatment programs as indicated. Participates in the admission/screening/assessment process by interviewing Veterans and/or other stakeholders and completing intake data collection with purpose of ensuring Caregiver Support Program Mental Health Assessment are in compliance. This may include obtaining psychosocial history, maintaining data sheets, completing high risk screens, answering consults, and developing discharge planning assessments. Participates in or facilitates selected supportive groups related to the treatment of Veterans and Caregivers in the Caregiver Support Program, conducts individual counseling and other social work privileged functions independently or under supervision as professional license dictates. May conduct psycho educational activities following professionally prepared resource guides. Duties may be assigned in other SWS program areas as needed for the overall benefit of the Medical Center, SWS The incumbent will provide a full range of therapeutic interventions including psychosocial assessment, individual therapy, group therapy, and psycho-educational classes. Best practices, practice guidelines and evidence-based treatment protocols are utilized to the extent feasible in all therapeutic interventions. Use supportive/facilitative techniques with Veterans and their stakeholders to help them better communicate with each other and, when necessary, help confront problem behaviors. Acts as a resource and liaison person to public and private providers and agencies to assure continuity of care and appropriate referrals for Veterans and their stakeholders as levels of care change. Incumbent is able to coordinate community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm 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)