This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
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. 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 SW Licensure Summary by State. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. 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, Employee Occupational Health Services.
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties, But Not Limited To: LRC functions as a champion and advocate for the recovery model. LRC also serves as a recovery ombudsman to the Mental Health Service Line and implementation of recovery oriented services. In conjunction with the Chief of Psychology and the Associate Chief of Mental Health, the LRC develops a 3-5 year plan for the facility that identifies staged implementation of recovery oriented services (e.g., use of recovery plans). LRC is responsible for coordinating the evaluation of recovery implementation at the facility and reporting results to VA's National Recovery Coordinator (NRC). With guidance from the NRC, the LRC will implement measures to assess recovery policy and procedure adherence, as well as assess the extent that the recovery model is embodied in MHS programs. LRC develops a facility recovery education plan for providers and Veterans and their families. Develops an ongoing education plan for providers including, but not limited to: recurrent didactic presentations about elements of recovery (e.g., recovery plans) and recovery implementation by experts; recurrent presentations by recovering individuals, especially Veterans; information about community mental health support groups and other resources and how to make referrals; information about VA and national recovery materials and resources and how to access these; information about VA sponsored trainings and education on recovery (e.g., how to communicate recovery to patients and families); availability of recovery posters and brochures; training on cultural competency; and development and coordination of local recovery training as needed. Develops an ongoing education plan for Veterans and families which includes, but is not limited to; recurrent didactic presentations about recovery by experts; recurrent presentations by recovering individuals, especially Veterans; information about VA and community mental health support groups and other resources; and information about how to become involved in improving mental health care for Veterans through the Veterans Mental Health Advisory Committee and the Patient Experience Committee. LRC serves as consultant to Mental Health programs and recovering Veterans in development of peer support groups, consumer counseling, and consumer operated services, as per local needs and resources. When available, community resources should be utilized. Advises and collaborates with the Behavioral Health leaders and Associate Chief of Staff of BHSL on filling Peer Specialist positions. Assists with VA regional or local recovery oriented trainings, meetings, or conferences as needed. Serves as a Mental Health Service Liaison to the facility's Veterans Mental Health Advisory Committee and the Patient Experience Committee. Provides an annual report on implementation progress to the VISN Recovery Coordinator and the NRC; other reports are also prepared and submitted as requested. Meets quarterly via conference call with other VISN LRCs to coordinate a network response to recovery implementation and implementation of CO policies and procedures related to recovery. Participates in BHS leadership meetings and policy planning groups as directed. Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services and suicide assessment Provides a full range of interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on evidenced-based treatments Evidence-based treatments to be provided to Veterans individually or in group format with appropriate documentation and measurement of effectiveness and Veteran response using clinical judgment and standardized assessment instruments. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients across the Behavioral Health service including the Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program and the Outpatient Behavioral health Team Prompt completion of clinical reminders. Provides administrative duties including: Scheduling of Veterans and related issues, returning Veterans' phone calls and secure messages, writing reports, attending organizational meetings. On-going professional training and experiences are an expectation of the position. This duty is met through workshops, intra-VA assignments, and distance learning Occasionally, the employee will provide clinical coverage for an absent staff member, as deemed necessary by supervisor. Work Schedule: 8:00AM - 4:30PM, Monday - Friday Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized