Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor - Suicide Prevention Coordinator

Summary

Cheyenne VA Medical Center is hiring for one Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

• Suicide Prevention Coordinator.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

09/09/2024 to 09/30/2024

• Salary

$99,282 - $129,062 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 12

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Location

• Cheyenne, WY 1 vacancy

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

25% or less

• You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Excepted

• Promotion potential

12

• Job family (Series)

• 0183 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Not Required

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

• Credentialing

• Suitability/Fitness

• Financial disclosure

No

• Bargaining unit status

Yes

• Announcement number

CBSU-12541078-24-ALA

• Control number

808610500

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to all current, permanent VA Health Care System agency employees and all and all current/past/upcoming VHA Healthcare Professional Trainees (HPT) Graduates.

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Duties

The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) serves as a Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) Coordinator at the Cheyenne VA Healthcare System (CVAHCS), which is assigned concurrently to the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) and functions as part of the Multidisciplinary Treatment Team comprised of professional and para-professional Mental Health Staff involved in case assessment, treatment, and discharge planning. The incumbent offers Psycho-social Assessment and Treatment to eligible Veterans (Vietnam, WWII, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Persian Gulf War, OEF/OIF) and their families and/or significant others. Duties will include direct service provision and consultation with interdisciplinary staff and other facility leaders.

Other duties may include, but are not limited to:

• The SPP Coordinator's contact with patients and families are to provide professional services in relation to the patient's illness and course of treatment with other professional staff to provide and/or receive consultation and to carry out team functions. Contacts with community agencies are to refer and/or consult in relation to collateral or follow-up services to patients and families, as well as to encourage appropriate case referrals to the SPC.

• Provides consultative services to other clinical and administrative staff, and to VA programs, focused on any aspect of suicide prevention.

• Provides supportive counseling in the development and utilization of community resources.

• Maintains a list of patients determined to be currently high-risk for suicide and monitor their care to assure that needed services are being received by telephone contact.

• As needed or appropriate, consults/collaborates with providers of high-risk patients for purposes of education and facilitating best practice. May optionally provide direct patient care for same purpose.

• Provides training to clinical and non-clinical staff in the Medical Center, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's) and community about risk factors, warning signs, treatment options and resources.

• Promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and strategies for suicide prevention in the Medical Center.

• Co-chairs with patient safety officer the RCA (Root Cause Analysis) Suicide Team by performing individual case reviews, assisting with preparation of quarterly aggregate summaries, and facilitating recommended system improvements.

• Responds to consults from the Suicide Prevention Hotline as soon as possible and contacts Veterans to engage them in treatment and reports back to the Hotline Staff about the results of interventions.

• Facilitates assessment of Suicide in the facility using the Suicide Risk Screen.

• Facilitates implementation of reporting high-risk patients through use of the Suicide Behavior Report.

• Facilitates the implementation of High Risk for Suicide Flags per Central Office Directives. Implements Guide Training throughout CVAHCS, CBOC's, and in the community and sends evaluations to the Center of Excellence. Acts as a liaison to community organizations and Veterans organizations.

• Completes outreach events to promote suicide prevention awareness in the community.

• Assures that all Veterans on the facility tracking list are being followed closely by the appropriate provider on a regular basis as determined by the coordinator and the provider.

• Tracks any no-show appointments by these Veterans and facilitate appropriate follow-up.

• Obtains any relevant HIPAA clearances to allow transmittal of facility data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk to the VISN 19 MIRECC for trending and quality assurance purposes; and transmitting the data following cyber security requirements as applicable for this sensitive data.

• Provides crisis intervention, when indicated, including timely evaluation, assessment, and triage of at-risk Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs, evaluate risk, and initiate safety plan as appropriate.

• Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services.

• Complies with national and local performance measures and clinical reminders, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.

• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm

Telework: Available as determined by the agency policy.

Functional Statement #: 53133-A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.

• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.

• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.

• You may be required to serve a probationary period.

• Subject to background/security investigation.

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.

• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP)

• See "Additional Information" below for details.

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.

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).

• Education. Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling. CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from http://www.cacrep.org/directory/.

NOTE: Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling.

• Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0183 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment.

NOTE: It is VHA policy that a LPMHC who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record.

• English Language Proficiency. LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j. 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:

Supervisory Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills, judgment, and competency.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• Ability to administratively supervise other providers and conduct meetings.

• Ability to maintain a professional environment by following organizational policies, guidelines and safety standards.

• Ability to establish and clearly communicate guidelines and performance expectations for staff.

Preferred Experience: None

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/106 PART II APPENDIX G43

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Typically, the employee sits comfortably indoors to do the work. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking; standing; sitting, bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile; etc. Use of fingers, both hands required, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13"to 16", hearing (aid permitted), clear distinctive speech.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

Learn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

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.