Senior Social Worker (Mental Health) - Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (Texas)

Summary The Senior Social Worker position within the West Texas VA HCS (WTVAHCS) is administratively within the Behavioral Health Service Line. The incumbent will provide face-to-face and/or telemental health (e.g., VA Video Connect) services to Veterans across WTVAHCS sites of care. This vacancy will remain open until filled. The first cut-off date is 5/3/2021. Additional applications will be referred as needed. Responsibilities Clinical Responsibilities: 1. Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services, including assessment, and uses the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care. 2. Performs evaluations for wide array of patients representing diverse diagnostic entities. 3. Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, as indicated and appropriate for the specific setting and duties of the incumbent, which may include individual, family, and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation. 4. Providers education to patients, family members, and significant others regarding mental disorders and best practices approaches to treatment. 5. Fully and continually assesses mental health disorders and symptom changes, using psychological screenings and assessments. 6. Routinely implements goal-oriented and measurement-based care into practice, using data to inform treatment decisions. 7. Provides in-person and/or telemental health modalities, such as Clinical Video Teleconferencing (CVT) or VA Video Connect (VVC). 8. Complies with all Behavioral Health Service documentation requirements, including standards for timely completion of CPRS patient contact notes, use of required documentation templates, clinical reminders, treatment plans, risk assessment protocols, and proper patient checkout procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). 9. Follows service and VA guidelines (e.g., using designated note templates) for delivering and documenting care delivery. 10. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients. 11. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients. 12. Provides consultation to health care providers about assessment findings and treatment plan for patients to ensure that care is coordinated, collaborative, and integrated within the WTVAHCS. 13. Adheres to all WTVAHCS and Behavioral Health Service policies and practices for delivering clinical care, including but not limited to risk assessment and reduction practices for potentially dangerous behavior (suicide and violence), timeliness of care and access standards, professional conduct requirements, and CPRS documentation conventions. 14. Functions independently as a member of the VA HCS Medical Staff, with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation. Administrative Responsibilities: 1. Participates as an active Mental Health Clinic team member. 2. Adheres to all service policies and procedures established by Behavioral Health Leadership. 3. Complies with all WTVAHCS and VHA policies and expectations concerning administrative practices, including but not limited to leave authorization, documentation, and completing TMS educational requirements. 4. Complies with national and local performance measures (e.g., SAIL) and facilitates organizational success on these measures at the section or program level. 5. Assists in the selection, training, and supervision staff at lower grade within assigned program area, Behavioral Health Service, or WTVAHCS, as needed. 6. Coordinates with Behavioral Health Leadership and the local EBP Coordinator to ensure EBP programming is well-integrated and coordinated within the broader system. 7. Assists Behavioral Health Leadership in executing ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. 8. Attends regular Behavioral Health meetings, Medical Staff meetings, and complies with peer review procedures. 9. Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by Behavioral Health and other VA Leadership. 10. Completes annual surveys. 11. Maintains current knowledge of and practices in accordance with The Joint Commission (TJC), Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), or other accrediting or governing body requirements. 12. Protects printed and electronic files containing sensitive data in accordance with provisions of Federal privacy acts and confidentiality statutes. Follows regulations and instructions regarding release of sensitive or protected patient or employee information. - Other responsibilities as assigned by Behavioral Health Service Leadership. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/13/2021. 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. 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: 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/. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Preferred Experience: Experience in delivering Evidence Based Psychotherapies Experience in routinely engaging in measurement-based care Experience in facilitating time-limited psychotherapy groups Experience in working on an interdisciplinary team Experience in routinely delivering services via Clinical Video Telehealth Experience in delivering unscheduled (i.e., same day) care and crisis management Grade Determinations: GS12 Senior Social Worker Experience/Education: The candidate 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: a. 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. b. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. c. 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. d. 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. e. 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. Advanced Practice Level: For all assignments above the full performance (journey) 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. Advanced Practice Level is defined as the ability to provide independent and expert clinical psychosocial and case management services in a specialized area of practice to Veterans who tend to have serious and severe crises, may lack any familial and community support, may be poor self-monitors, may frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or may have major deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. The advanced practice or senior social worker has an increased depth and breadth of practice skills; has expertise in participating in the professional development of colleagues through mentorship and teaching; demonstrates leadership in developing and expanding professional intervention strategies; demonstrates leadership in defining and attending to professional practice issues; and has the ability to expand the conceptual knowledge of the profession. The advanced practice or senior social worker will make independent professional decisions and recommendations for agency action; the consequences to the Veteran of these decisions and actions may be quite serious. Work involves intensive social work services requiring the exercise of mature professional judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of complex social work practice skills not typically required in routine social work interventions. The advanced practice or senior social worker has mastered a range of specialized interventions and provides consultation to colleagues, renders professional opinions based on experience and expertise, develops new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention, and incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment. The advanced practice or senior social worker utilizes outcome evaluations to further treatment and designs system changes based on empirical findings. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39 VA Qualification Standards. http://vaww1.va.gov/ohrm/Directives-Handbooks/Direct\_Hand.htm The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. Physical Requirements: moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; walking/standing (up to 4 hours); near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing (aid permitted); mental and emotional stability; cognitive stability. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Failure to provide transcripts may result in non-referral of your application if education cannot be verified. 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. NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. NOTE: If your school was accredited by CSWE at the time of graduation, but is no longer listed on the CSWE website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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