Career Center

Summary

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.

Qualifications

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
• You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required 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 tohttp://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 tohttp://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
• Social Worker - GS-9 Experience - Education - and Licensure
• None beyond the basic requirements
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans - their family members - caregivers - and survivors
• 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
• Social Worker - GS-11 Experience and Licensure
• Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one 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 year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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 - educational - and other 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
• Preferred Experience: Leading/running psychotherapy groups with a chronic mental health population 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-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11
• Physical Requirements: Please see VA Handbook and Directive 5019 - Employee Occupational Health.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This Social Worker is part of the Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences Service (MHBSS) of VAPHCS - and is based out of the main campus or other designated location
• The Social Worker works with an interdisciplinary team of professionals and trainees working with Veterans with a range of psychiatric disorders - provides supervision and consultation as appropriate - provides educational opportunities - provides direct patient care via individual and groups - participates in program development in consultation with leadership - and provides administrative duties and reports related to such - as assigned by leadership Major duties include - but are not limited to: Conducts psychosocial assessments to determine needs of veterans and family members
• Participates in the treatment planning process with other disciplines
• Develops comprehensive treatment plans
• Identifies specific Veteran needs
• Coordinates with external consultants and ancillary mental health professionals to insure appropriate and necessary treatment is provided/offered to veterans
• Makes sound professional judgments regarding clinical impressions - treatment approaches - and treatment planning - commonly involving Bipolar Disorder - psychotic spectrum disorders - personality disorders - PTSD - depression - anxiety - impulse control issues - suicidal/homicidal ideation - and clinical and sub-clinical problems affecting vocational and social adjustments - among others
• Provides evidence based psychotherapy in both individual and group based settings
• Maintains accurate - timely - and complete clinical records in accordance with guidelines - professional practice - and VA administration guidelines
• He/she establishes and maintains effective relationships with various Veteran agencies and develops personalized services for veterans
• Provides case management to veterans and families - as needed - throughout the continuum of care
• Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work - individual - family and group counseling - discharge planning - case management and other services as appropriate
• Addresses Advance Directives and Organ Donation in accordance with the standards of their work area
• Provides wellness/prevention education and facilitates patient/family support groups as appropriate
• Documents social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care
• Other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Full-time - Monday-Friday EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact Karen Chapman - Karen.Chapman@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 - as determined by the agency policy (Ad-Hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: F06837/F06838 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Due to a critical staffing shortage - 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement
• This position is eligible for coverage by a Bargaining Unit - but is not currently represented
• This position is covered by a special rate
• Narrative responses to the knowledge - skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.