Career Center

Summary

This position is located in the Mental Health Service of the Central Alabama VA Medical Center - Tuskegee. The incumbent is assigned an integral member of the interdisciplinary team - providing social work services to Veterans in the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program located on site in Tuskegee - AL.

Qualifications

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: 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/
• **For the GS-11 grade level and above - the candidate must be licensed or certified.** Exception GS-9: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified - pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations
• This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level
• For appointments at the GS-9 grade level - VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent - master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker
• Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam - and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam
• In states such as California - Washington - and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years - social workers must become licensed at the independent - master's level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure
• 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: GS-09 Social Worker candidates must have the following: Experience - Education - and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements
• GS-11 Social Worker candidates must have the following: Experience and Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one (1) year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings - (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level
• OR Education: In addition to meeting basic requirements - a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one (1) year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting
• Additional transcripts must be submitted to support this
• 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 complete narrative responses then
• The GS-9 and 11 KSA's for this position are: GS-09 Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic - cultural - ethnic - educational - and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills
• Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members - and to formulate and implement a treatment plan - identifying the Veterans problems - strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and assistance needed
• Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups to achieve treatment goals
• This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive - problem solving - or crisis intervention techniques
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients - staff - and representatives of community agencies
• Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities - and treatment procedures
• This includes acute - chronic - and traumatic illnesses/injuries
• common medications and their effects/side effects
• and medical terminology
• GS-11 Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services
• Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - cultural - ethnic - educational and other diversified backgrounds
• Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e
• acute - chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries - common medications and their effects/side effects - and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan
• Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical - and social problems to achieve treatment goals
• Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers - social work graduate students - and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment
• References: VA Regulations - specifically VA Handbook 5005/120 - Part II - Appendix G39 - 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-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11
• Physical Requirements: The work requires walking - standing - bending - pushing - carrying - lifting - and transporting items as required
• The position requires and incumbent to be adaptable and flexible in several roles.

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional - The incumbent is able to engage pre-admission planning - engage admission diversion services - engage patient and family education - engage client advocacy - engage mandatory reporting (abuse - neglect - or exploitation) - engage suicide assessment - crisis intervention - and safety planning
• - The incumbent is able to engage advance care planning and goals of care conversations - engage resource referral and community services coordination - completed discharge or after care planning and coordination - engage community care and community resource linkage - engage interdisciplinary collaboration - coordination - and consultation
• - The incumbent performs specialized treatment of complex mental illness for patients seen in the MHRRTP
• The MHRRTP patients present with a wide variety of healthcare needs including substance use history - medical issues and mental health problems
• The incumbent practices at the independent level
• He/she provides assessment and treatment of Veteran patients within the approved scope of practice
• - The incumbent is able to provide individual - group - marriage - couple - family - and group counseling or therapy
• - The incumbent is able to provide advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans with serious medical and psychiatric disorders
• The Social Worker provides services that access the continuum of care
• - The incumbent is responsible for the overall function of program development - case management - networking with community resources - and coordination of care with the psychiatrist and medical staff on site as well as various departments at CAVHCS and community facilities in the primary service area
• - The incumbent is responsible for completing structured clinical assessments for participants
• This requires knowledge of medical and behavioral health terminology - diagnostic categories - and chart review
• The Social Worker performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness
• - The Social Worker interviews and conducts psychosocial assessments to establish veteran's treatment needs - presenting problems - and provide a clinical impression
• The incumbent assesses high risk factors - acuity and need for services
• The Social Worker interprets and explains VA treatment and benefit programs
• - It is the responsibility of the Social Worker to develop a treatment plan with the veteran based on this assessment
• The incumbent along with the veteran will develop the treatment plan that includes measurable time limited treatment goals
• The treatment plan will be reviewed during therapeutic sessions and reassessed as appropriate
• - When coverage is needed and/or when clinically appropriate - the incumbent coordinates and/or conducts screening of veterans for specific programs to determine the appropriate level of care needed for patients not in treatment and the ability to understand the variety of clinical options available through the medical center and local community
• - The incumbent will be responsible for the day to day social work functions of veterans he/she are assigned to in the MHRRTP and have an extensive knowledge of Veterans community programs/resources
• The incumbent is required to interact not only with the Veteran but also with family and significant others - when indicated - interdisciplinary team members - other VA staff - and community organizations and social service agencies
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00am - 4:00p 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 #: 59317F (GS-0185-09) - 59318 (GS-0185-11)
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.