Bay Pines VAMC is currently recruiting for a Suicide Prevention National Telehealth Program Senior Social Worker to join the Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) team to serve at the Network level. There is currently only one vacant position available but will be located on site at any of the main VISN 8 hospital facilities: Bay Pines, Tampa, Orlando, San Juan, Gainesville, Lake City, West Palm Beach, or Miami. Salary will be adjusted to appropriate selection location.
Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 06/25/2025 Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Must be US Citizen. 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/. Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. GS-12 Senior Social Worker candidates must have the following: Experience/Education: Must have at least two (2) years of experience POST advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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. AND 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. Advanced License must be submitted with application. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. If selected, you may be required to submit narrative responses then. These are the KSA's for this position and grade level: 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. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Senior Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/19. 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: Able to meet the physical demands of the position, to include sitting, standing, frequent walking, hearing. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. They must have good manual dexterity, must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written work and must be able to view and read information on computer screens. Position will frequently communicate and use video technology Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT).
This position falls under the general supervision of the VISN CRH Mental Health (MH) Section Chief. A Clinical Resource Hub (CRH) is a repository of clinical and administrative staff that serve Veterans Affairs facilities within a Veterans Integrated System Network (VISN). Staff within the Suicide Prevention National Telehealth Program are expected to provide outpatient, evidence-based, suicide prevention psychotherapy services (such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention, Problem-Solving Therapy for Suicide Prevention, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy) to Veterans across the VISN, and provide other services that align with suicide preventions needs (i.e., training, consultation, etc.) and current/future Clinical Practice Guidelines. Services provided by the Program staff are conducted virtually, and Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) is the primary modality for treatment, which includes clinic based telehealth and telehealth into the home. Duties include but are not limited to: Completes a current psychosocial assessment to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans, after thorough review of the medical record. The incumbent must be able to utilize this assessment and the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide (2019) in facilitating the Veteran's maximum use of treatment for attainment of the highest level of recovery that is possible and practicable. Participates as a member of a Suicide Prevention National Telehealth Program treatment team and engages in active collaboration with Veterans and family as well as other interdisciplinary treatment team members, including but not limited to Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists, Social Workers, RNs, Peer Support Specialists and Administrative Support staff, in the development and implementation of a treatment plan. Facilitates enrollment and discharge planning through collaboration with Veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate plans are executed in a timely manner. Also, incumbent will address treatment compliance and "no-shows" when needed with patients. Possesses knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities and to provide counseling and/or skills groups for Veterans and families, achieved through future completion of training program curriculums and demonstration of competency, as determined by standard, programmatic ratings. Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits, specialty programs, and advance directives including accessing and/or coordinating community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs or other government programs. Completes all reporting requirements set forth to include, but not limited to: Measurement-Based Care monitoring, Program evaluation, Quality management, Fidelity, efficacy, and outcomes measures, training required for the position and delivery of care, Utilization of tools and resources related to reporting and evaluation (i.e., dashboards, measures, note templates with health factors, etc.) Must possess and demonstrate ability to communicate effectively, both orally, virtually and in writing with people from diverse backgrounds. Must provide emergency/crisis intervention services to patients experiencing acute psychological crises by helping to stabilize these individuals, providing evidence-based suicide prevention psychotherapies, assisting in referral arrangements for transfer to a psychiatric facility for inpatient care (taking into account locality demands), if necessary, and providing follow up care as needed, all occurring within the context of active treatment with you as the provider. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Telework: Not available Functional Statement #:000000/ Senior Social Worker Additional Benefits Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional 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) 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.