This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
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/. 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 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. 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. 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. 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: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This position serves as Senior Social Worker in the Mental Health Residential Recovery and Treatment Program (MHRRTP) at the Alexandria VA Health Care System (AVAHCS) main campus. Senior Social Worker in MHRRTP works closely with an interdisciplinary team in coordinating care for the veteran. The incumbent completes mental health psychosocial assessments, treatment plans and discharge planning. S/He provides supportive services to the family and caregiver as appropriate and makes referrals to other clinics or programs at the VA and/or community agencies. The incumbent will assist with short- term and long-term interventions to enhance compliance with treatment and programming, provide individual and group evidence based psychotherapy services, crisis intervention and promotion of whole-health principles. Duties include but not limited to: Collaborates with the other members of the interdisciplinary treatment team in the provision of comprehensive mental health services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population and ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. Performs comprehensive suicide risk screenings and assessments and develops and integrates safety planning and safety goals into the Veteran's collaborative, individualized treatment plan. Provide direct, concurrent, clinical care using established evidence based practices for Veterans. The specialist will provide a range of psychological interventions (individual, family, couples and group therapy) consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on evidenced-based treatments for SUD and co-occurring diagnoses such as PTSD. Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services consistent with training and expertise, especially in the areas of all mental health diagnoses and suicide assessment. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. - Supervises trainees conducting direct clinical care. Provides duties in support of clinical services including: Managing Return to Clinic Orders and consults for Veterans as needed, returning Veterans' phone calls and secure messages, writing reports, scoring Measure Based Care tools, attending organizational meetings. Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). Maintains a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with Mental Health, Joint Commission, CARF and facility standards. Participates in readiness and response to outside accrediting agencies and OIG. Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the ACOS, MH, Deputy ACOS, MH and other managers. On-going professional training and experiences are an expectation of the position. This duty is met through workshops, intra-VA assignments, and distance learning. Participate in weekend rotation with other clinical providers. Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday (subject to change based upon the needs of the facility) Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact raja.kadeem@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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 - AdHoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 502-00490-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized