Summary

The Mental Health Behavioral Sciences (MHBS) Senior Social Worker is a member of the Bridge the Gap Team within the Mental Health service line of Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System (NAVAHCS) - located at the Prescott VA facility. The Bridge the Gap Team consists of a Program Manager - Psychiatrist - Psychologist - and Social Worker that operate in collaboration with the Primary Care Mental Health Integrated (PCMHI) Team - service line programs - and other departments at the facility.

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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• 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
• [Transcripts - official or unofficial showing conferral date - must be submitted at time of application must] Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed 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
• [A copy of current license showing date of issuance and expiration must be submitted with application] English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• 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: Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience/Education
• Applicant 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 - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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
• Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level
• Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site
• a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center - or a national VHA referral center - such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center - or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity
• The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns
• Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics
• The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans - ensures equity of access - service - and benefits to this population - ensures the care provided is of the highest quality
• The senior social worker provides leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff
• They serve on committees - work groups - and task forces at the facility - VISN and national level - or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor - Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services
• This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management
• This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation
• References: VA Handbook 5005/120 - Part II - Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard GS-0185 Veterans Health Administration
• Physical Requirements: Involve active listening - reading - observing and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior - walking - speaking - writing reports - writing policies and procedures - writing clinical notes - using office equipment such as computers - telephones - fax machines - photocopy machines and traveling throughout the catchment.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties include - but are not limited to: Coordinates and triages disposition of referrals to MHBS Service Line (e.g. - Primary Care - Specialty Care - other VAs - and self-referrals): referrals from other MHBS services (e.g. - Domiciliary - Homeless Programs and IOP)
• as well as referrals within MH disciplines (e.g. - Psychiatry - Therapy - Neuropsychology)
• Provides expert clinical services and consultation in addition to Crisis Assessment and Intervention
• comprehensive Assessments and Evidence-Based Interventions (Individual - Group and Family Therapy)
• consultation to other Mental Health and Medical Providers throughout the Facility and its satellite CBOC's/PTOC's
• Coordinates outpatient follow-up for patients discharging from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and/or residential treatment (i.e. - the Domiciliary)
• Tracks patients to ensure access to appropriate and timely mental health care and providing enhanced care coordination to Veterans
• Provides outreach to Veterans flagged as high risk for suicide and not engaged in MH services
• This involves working collaboratively with the Suicide Prevention Program
• Develops and maintains a system to ensure follow-up with patients who miss initial consult appointments
• Triages and manages of electronic consults received by MHBS to include the timely assignment - scheduling - and closure of the consults
• Provides same day and short-term gap coverage in the event a Provider is out of the office or position is vacant to ensure that same access is an option provided to each Veteran
• Develops policies and procedures related to Access to Care - including evaluating processes and procedures to ensure timely and effective referral - disposition - and follow-up services
• Functions independently to maximize Access to Care and identify possible barriers to care
• Develops a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program to include collecting - analyzing - and reporting program data to management - and as requested preparing reports for the facility - VISN - and VACO
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified candidates
• 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: Ad Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Bargaining Unit: Yes