The Social Worker (Program Coordinator) - Suicide Prevention will serve to facilitate implementation of suicide prevention strategies at a local level through education, monitoring, and coordination activities. The primary responsibilities of the Suicide Prevention Coordinator include monitoring list of Veterans determined to be at high risk for self-harm, providing education to all front line and clinical staff regarding risk factors and protective factors for suicide, among others.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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: Must 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: 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/. (NOTE: For those who have a Florida LCSW license, you must be registered with the state as a "Qualified Supervisor" in order to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certification. All others must meet the requirements of their state of licensure to be able to provide supervision for licensure.) Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification. For additional information, please visit Membership - CPTSPR. English Language: Must be proficient in spoken and written English 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). All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401 (3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator) GS-12 Experience/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. Preferred Experience: Those candidates with suicide prevention experience and crisis management experience are highly preferred. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort, such as that involved in lifting light files, bending, standing, reaching, operating office equipment such as telephone, copier, fax machine, scanner, etc. The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional As a Social Worker (Program Coordinator), the Suicide Prevention Coordinator works in collaboration with the At-Risk Monitoring and Outreach Program Coordinator (ARMOR), and other discipline specific supervisors to coordinate administrative, patient, and personnel activities for this program. Other responsibilities of the Suicide Prevention Coordinator include educating clinical staff regarding safety planning with their patients, networking with community partners, providing programmatic guidance for the team of suicide prevention specialists, providing timely and accurate responses to all action items regarding Suicide Prevention program. Some of the duties include, but are not limited to; Provide a full range of psychosocial and psychological services and must possess a thorough knowledge and have experience h the use of mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses. Advance care planning and goals of care conversations, resource referral and community services coordination, discharge or after care planning and coordination, pre-admission planning and interdisciplinary collaboration, coordination and consultation. Responsible for data collection, administrative record keeping, monitoring of patient or program clinical indicators, and performance measurements. Monitoring data collected for the SPAN National Data Base, as well as any local monitoring of Veterans and data collected for performance improvement. In coordination with the rest of the clinical staff, interprets and implements the philosophy and goals of the Mental Health and Social Work Service and the program to which they are assigned to in the work setting. Functions within established guidelines and demonstrates the ability to work effectively and develop sound relationships with their patients, other caregivers, professional staff and supportive personnel who provide patient care. Responds to consults from the National Veterans Crisis Hotline and coordinates the follow up care for these Veterans and families. Responsibility of reviewing all Veterans whose charts have been flagged due to being at risk for self-harm. Initiates flags for Veterans identified as high risk and removes flags for Veterans who no longer meet this criteria according local policy. Works with community resources such as VSO's and other community groups to assure that they are aware of how to recognize Veterans at risk for suicide and their options for getting these Veterans assistance. Develops and implements an ongoing education plan for providers, veterans, families, and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide, and treatment options. Assures that all of these patients have a 24-hour resource number to call and ways to get assistance if an immediate crisis should occur. Provides referrals to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social services or other non-VA entitlement programs. Ability to serve Veterans who tend to have frequent and severe crises, or an inadequate community support network, those that frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or have significant deficits in coping and require continuing professional psychosocial support. Works collaboratively with each of the Mental Health Teams to ensure appropriate care coordination for Veterans at risk for suicide. Develops working relationships with other organizations having responsibility for the same patient population. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am 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 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) 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 #: Social Worker (Program Coordinator) Suicide Prevention GS-12 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.