Summary

The Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Senior Social Worker provides clinical psychosocial and case management services to eligible Veterans and their family members to meet biological - psychological - social - and environmental needs. In addition - the selectee will primarily engage in specific Evidence-Based Psychotherapies to provide specialized clinical care for the majority of their time.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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: Must 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: 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/
• (NOTE: For those who have a Florida LCSW license - you must be registered with the state as a "Qualified Supervisor" in order to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certification
• All others must meet the requirements of their state of licensure to be able to provide supervision for licensure.) Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification
• For additional information - please visit Membership - CPTSPR
• English Language: Must be proficient in spoken and written English 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)
• 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
• 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
• Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience: Must have a least two years of specialized 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
• Preferred Experience: Those candidates with the below are highly preferred
• Ability to make professional evaluations - decisions - and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation
• Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills - including evidenced based practices and screening/assessment
• Ability to use a wide variety of individual and group counseling interventions
• Ability to fully utilize the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention using professional counseling practices
• Must be able to provide 50% evidence based practice sessions
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort - such as that involved in lifting light files - bending - standing - reaching - operating office equipment such as telephone - copier - fax machine - scanner - etc
• The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers
• moderate walking and standing
• near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4
• far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other
• hearing aid permitted
• clear speech
• emotional stability
• moderate duty.

Duties

• **This is an Open and Continuous announcement and can be taken down at any time.** Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The BHIP Senior Social Worker is assigned to work with highly-complex mental health problems requiring advanced practice level psychosocial interventions in a Veteran population who have experienced trauma - including expertise in Evidenced-Based Psychotherapies (EBP) for depression including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression (CBT-D) - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depression (ACT-D) and/or Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT-D)
• These veterans often demonstrate complex medical and mental health diagnoses (for example PTSD - Substance Use Disorder - Traumatic Brain Injury - and/or comorbid disorders) that require expert diagnostic skills - judgment and treatment
• The Senior Social Worker independently provides mental health services at an independent and advanced practice level
• Some of the duties include - but are not limited to
• Conducts full bio-psychosocial assessments utilizing evidence-based diagnostic interviews of the Veteran with specific examination of current coping skills - emotion regulation - and support networks in place
• Will be providing care for BHIP enrolled Veterans with higher acuity of need/severity of symptoms he/she will provides 2 or more VA approved Evidence Based Psychotherapies (EBP) for Depression and related disorders - such as ACT-D - IPT-D - and CBT-D
• Possesses the knowledge of advance interventions - as well as the ability to initiate treatment modalities in accordance with unique patient needs/treatment objectives
• Will be tasked with cases with higher severity than the typical BHIP referral and will be expected to engage in practice that is expected of a Senior Social Worker
• Routinely and frequently use specialized outcome measures beyond the mandated Measurement Based Care requirements
• Makes independent professional decisions and recommendations for agency action using a wide range of complex social work practice skills utilizing their advance practice skills - knowledge - and experience
• Utilizes outcome evaluations to further treatment and designs system changes based on empirical findings and in consultation with other specialty team members
• Serves as a representative of the SHIP program for outreach activities and/or serves as a guest speaker at community or university events
• Provides consultation to students and colleagues regarding Mental Health training opportunities and procedures - approved national consultants - and arranges trainings as appropriate
• Will act as a liaison and advocate for Veterans receiving care from an approved community care partner for Evidence-Based Psychotherapy and other psychotherapy services
• Will coordinate with community care partners to ensure that Veterans being served in the community are receiving care that meets VA standards and that collaborative services that the VA provides are available to the Veteran receiving community care
• Other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am to 4:30pm
• However - the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis - based on the needs of the service and patient care
• 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 #: Senior Social Worker - BHIP GS-12 81804F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.