Senior Social Worker

Summary

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.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

07/03/2024 to 07/11/2024

• Salary

$97,614 - $126,895 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 12

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Shawnee, OK 1 vacancy

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Excepted

• Promotion potential

12

• Job family (Series)

0185 Social Work

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Credentialing

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBSU-12464152-24-TJB

• Control number

798381800

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

This job announcement is open to current, permanent VHA employees and Health Professional Trainees. If you are another federal employee or the public, please apply here: CBSU-12464151-24-TJB

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Duties

The incumbent of this position serves full-time as a clinical/counseling Senior Social Worker in one of OKC VA Health Care System's Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) which provides both General Mental Health services as well as assists Primary Care with Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI). The Social Worker functions as an advanced, independent clinical Social Worker without immediate access to social work supervision. The primary duty location will be within the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System (OKCVAHCS) (635) which includes the CBOCs located across Oklahoma and Texas; some travel may be required as needed. Patient care may also be provided using authorized technology that may allow a face-to-face encounter.

This position involves compliance with all requirements for Joint Commission and VACO. Also, the Social Worker participates in program planning, process improvement, and evaluation of the Behavioral Health Programs, follows guidance regarding the assimilation and analysis of performance improvement data and utilizes processes to meet the regulatory requirements of VACO (e.g., SAIL data).

The CBOC Senior Social Worker also collaborates in the performance improvement process by ensuring compliance with various performance measures as required by the VA for their specific population and/or program. Performance measure information may be reported to CBOC administration, the OK City VA Healthcare System, and VISN which may then affect change.

This position requires independent and advanced decision making and provision of services due to the types of services provided, i.e., marital, family, individual therapy, and group therapy. The incumbent practices at an advanced and independent level, using professional judgment and expertise to make decisions about routine and emergent services and treatment provided to Veterans and their Families. This requires specialized knowledge of mental health emergencies, diagnosis, intervention, and treatment. He/she must be skilled in the delivery of marital and family psychotherapy services.

Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) provides brief Mental Health services to those Veterans who are seen in the Primary Care setting (PACT). These Veterans may have mental illness(es) and may also possess serious medical and psychosocial deficits. Services provided include assessment, triage, crisis intervention, advocacy, and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers /agencies as needed by the client. This is accomplished in collaboration with members of the Mental Health Clinic and other specialized MH clinics. Services may also include the provision of short term, solution-focused therapy with Veterans.This social work position requires a high level of advanced practice skills and clinical judgment as this individual functions/supports the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) model and is responsible for implementation and coordination of veteran centered care within the CBOC. This position is also responsible for assessing patients in crisis including front-line suicide assessment and prevention, assessing, and arranging for treatment of patients who require referral to acute and sub-specialty mental health units (Substance Treatment and Recovery (STAR/SUD), Trauma Recovery Services (TRS), Intensive Community Mental Health Recovery Services (ICMHRS), Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC), etc.), and treating a wide variety of mental health diagnosis as well as personality disorders and other mental disorders. Services provided include individual and group psychotherapy, and psychoeducational classes, triage/consults, assessment, crisis intervention, advocacy, and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers/agencies as needed by the client.

The CBOC Senior Social Worker has knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in a specialty area. The incumbent utilizes outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to improve and/or modify treatment services and/or programs. The incumbent demonstrates the ability to design changes based on empirical findings. The incumbent expands their clinical knowledge by demonstrating innovative models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address specialized clinical needs.

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

Telework: Ad-hoc

Functional Statement #: PD54575

EDRP Authorized: Contact David.Billingsley@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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

• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

• 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 examination.

• 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

To qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements of this position by the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS

Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States.

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. 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.

English Language Proficiency.

Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determination for the GS-12 Senior Social Worker Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as Senior Social Workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Education and Experience. 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.

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.

The full performance level of this position is a GS-11. This position is being hired above the full performance level at GS-12.

References: VA Handbook 5005/120 September 10, 2019

Physical Requirements: Able to meet the physical demands for the position, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Must have a good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken or written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens.

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.

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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.