The Senior Social Worker is essential in the provision of health & mental health services across the continuum of care. In addition, VA Social Workers facilitate case management services for Veterans who are severely injured or ill, require discharge planning, or are affected by severe and persistent mental illness, homelessness, suicidal ideation, and other risk factors.
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 a 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 Master's 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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. Example of GS-11 Experience: Assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; and acts as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver.) 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. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate 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. 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. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. Preferred Experience: Familiarity working with Veterans in the Suicide Prevention Program and/or Urgent Care setting, serving Veterans diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Experience and skill in evidence-based practices is vital for this role, while working in a Veteran Centric environment. At least two years should be in an area of specialized social work practice in mental health and substance abuse treatment. The incumbent has a post-2-year independent clinical license or certification by a state at the advanced practice level, which includes an ASWB advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level. The Senior Social Worker 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. 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: The physical demands of this position involve active listening, reading, observing, and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, walking, speaking, bending, carrying light items such as paper, books, small parts, writing reports, writing clinical notes, using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, photocopy machines, and possibly driving an automobile. The work is performed in an urgent care clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to communicable diseases common to those present within the Emergency Department or Urgent Care Clinic. Strenuous physical activity is not required.
The Suicide Prevention (SP) Coordinator provides broad support to the Lead Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Mental Health Service Line, Social Work Service Line, and the medical center. The SP Coordinator maintains a collaborative relationship with the veterans, their family members/ significant others (when applicable and appropriate), and other healthcare professionals with the goal of coordinating care and reducing the risk of internal and external non-clinical individuals with the goal of heightening awareness of suicide prevention and reducing the risk of suicide among the veteran population. The SP Coordinator maintains a caseload of veterans who are assigned to the facility High Risk Flag for Suicide list (HRF) and ensures that they are followed by the Mental Health Service Line for a period of 90 days following hospitalization or 90 days from the date of assignment to the High-Risk Flag List. The incumbent is responsible for completing the following duties/responsibilities: Maintains a caseload of High-Risk Veterans, providing case management and enhanced care. Responds to crisis callers and other clinicians regarding Veterans at immediate risk. Participates in daily interdisciplinary meetings with the Suicide Prevention Team and weekly meetings to review Consults to Suicide Prevention Program for Veterans to be deemed high risk for Suicide, provide Veteran outreach up to 90 days on a monthly, bi-monthly, or monthly basis. Develops a plan of care to link high-risk veterans to a mental health access clinic or specialty clinic. Serves as subject matter expert in Root Cause Analysis Teams on a rotating basis with other SP Team members. Participates in monthly National SPC calls. Completes Behavioral Autopsy after completed suicide. Monitoring the record of Veteran, ensuring compliance with appointments. Assures that all High-Risk Veterans and staff have familiarity and access to the 24-hour Veteran Crisis Line number 988. Works with community resources such as Veteran Service Organizations and Vet Centers to assure that they are aware of warning and risk factors of a High-Risk Veteran and providing subsequent education for getting these Veterans assistance. Assesses and evaluates Veteran's suicidal risk factors and severity of symptoms to make decisions regarding the level of care and type of interventions needed to prevent suicide. This can be done face­-to-face, over the phone, or via record reviews. Participates in the development of an ongoing education plan for Mental Health Service Line, Facility Health Care Providers, Veterans, families, and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide, and treatment options. Serves as a subject matter expert on Suicide Prevention and consults as needed to inpatient and outpatient providers. May participate in Team Meetings on a regular or as-needed basis. Provides education and training throughout the facility. Participates in Suicide Prevention Outreach events, providing education and materials to community partners and other agencies. Participates in monthly meetings with VISN-wide Patient Safety and SPCs. Total Rewards of an Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday 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: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:25223-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized