Social Worker - Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC)

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: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part.

Education Requirement: 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 Requirement: 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/.

Exception: 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 the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified.

At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.

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: GS-9 (Entry Level): Experience and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements.

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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the applicant's resume 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.

GS-11 (Full Performance Level): 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, the applicant's resume 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.

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications.

Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.

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: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position.

Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Major Duties:

The Social Worker and serves as Recovery Coach for the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC).

The center provides comprehensive and intensive services to high-risk Veterans diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI), including severe PTSD, substance abuse issues, trauma and their families.

The PRRC provides specialized, evidenced-based, recovery-oriented mental health interventions and services, training and education, and collaboration and advocacy, with a system-wide impact.

The age range of Veterans served in the PRRC is 18-65+, including men and women of diverse cultural backgrounds, and complex medical issues.

Major duties include, but are not limited to the following: Conducts psychosocial assessments to determine needs of Veterans and family members.

Performs insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia and other high-risk diagnosis.

Provides consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits.

Active participant in the treatment planning process with other disciplines, adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate.

Provides individual, family, and group psychotherapy Works from a recovery model focused on integrating Veteran into the community.

Provides consultation/education to Veterans and families on mental health education and the recovery model, crisis management, community resources, Advance Directives and VA benefits.

Acts as a consultant to other professional and paraprofessional team/staff members. Provides consultation/education to medical residents on social work practice and VA policy and procedure.

Works with other disciplines and programs to improve programing and care for Veterans.

Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs, and community agency programs.

Acts as liaison between VA and community resources, to include community inclusion services, marketing and public relation duties as needed.

Works closely with seriously mentally ill Veterans and assist them with access and engagement issues.

Provides case management services to Veterans and families as need 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 in accordance with the standards of their work area. Provides wellness/prevention education and facilitate patient/family support groups as appropriate.

Supervises the practice of social work students, or to less experienced social workers. Will role model best practices in the PRRC.

Coordinates treatment and communication with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans.

Participates in committee assignments geared at expanding the mental health recovery model hospital wide as deemed necessary by the service manager.

Maintains clinical and administrative statistics to comply with JCAHO, VA, and medical center policy and procedures.

assist patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness, and death.

Documents social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing electronic health record (EHR) and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm 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 vhavisn23edrp@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more 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 Eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 000000Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized