Senior Social Worker - Mental Health HBPC

Full Job Description

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.

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: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.

Education: Must hold 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.

Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the master's degree in social work.

Licensure: Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.

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).

Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards.

Please review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.

All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.

Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.(5) If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C.

§ 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection.

If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.

Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education - Must possess at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.

Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity.

Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice.

Licensure/Certification - 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.

Must have completed and passed the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) advanced generalist or clinical examination.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - In addition to meeting the licensure and experience for the GS-12 level, you must possess the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 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.

Preferred Experience: Mental health experience 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 GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Major Duties:

Total Rewards: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The incumbent will function as part of the interdisciplinary treatment team at the Dorn VA Medical Center within the Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program.

The VA Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program provides comprehensive, interdisciplinary primary care services in the homes of Veterans with complex, chronic, and disabling diseases.

Duties may include but not limited to: Functions as the primary mental health provider of the HBPC team, providing specialized mental health prevention, assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation services.

Provides advanced screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depressive and anxiety-related disorders, as well as other mental health conditions as outlined in the DSM-5 with the exception of personality disorder, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches.

Assesses and provides specialized treatments for subclinical symptoms of dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, and excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs (for which the patient may have a lower-than-normal tolerance due to their medical conditions and the potential for negative interactions with prescribed medication).

Provides mental health prevention services to patients at significant risk for mental illnesses.

Provides services to the families of Veterans with dementia being served by HBPC, when such care is directly related to the overall treatment plan for the Veteran.

Provides clinical services through the use of telemental health/telehome technology.

Provides specialized screening for cognitive deficits to address specific functional questions or to determine if a referral for a complete neuropsychological evaluation or dementia assessment is needed.

Assesses patients' understanding of advance directives and other forms of consent and assisting staff in determining how to present treatment options and other such materials to patients in a format they can understand.

Provides psychoeducational and supportive interventions, in conjunction with the Veteran, for spouses, family members/caregivers, and others that are crucial to keeping the Veteran at home.

Provides individual and group interventions to support patients who are coping with feelings of grief and loss associated with disability and other life transitions.

Provides behavioral medicine interventions to manage pain, sleep problems, facilitate weight loss, promote smoking cessation, and enhance medical compliance.

Promotes communication/ interactions between medical team members, patients, and their families to facilitate the medical treatment process.

Makes rapid assessments and develops crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs.

Enters all Veteran/family contacts in the electronic health records using appropriate formats and templates.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm 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 vhaedrpprogramsupport@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 off 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 #: 55687F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized