Senior Social Worker - ICMHR

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.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The mission of Intensive Community Mental Health Recovery (ICMHR) is to provide Veterans living with serious mental illness (SMI) with intensive, recovery-oriented services that promote independence, stability, and meaningful community living. ICMHR serves Veterans whose complex needs may not be adequately addressed through traditional outpatient care and operates similarly to an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model, providing individualized, interdisciplinary services primary in community settings. The ICMHR Senior Social Worker provides comprehensive social work services to Veterans living with serious mental illness and ensures the Veteran's care is appropriately coordinated with the VA Medical Facility, community health or mental health providers, and agencies that serve Veterans, including assisted living facilities. The incumbent will travel throughout the surrounding Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS) medical facilities, CBOCs, clinics, and community centers as part of assigned duties. Major duties and responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to: Participates on a multi-disciplinary team that meets daily to serve Veterans with complex mental health, medical, and co-morbid disorders, or who display increased risk for mild to moderate disruptive behavior. Provides case management for a caseload of Veterans in the ICMHR program. Accompanies intern/practicum students or GS-9 and GS-11 social workers on home or community visits when a Veteran has a complex presentation. Functions as the subject matter expert in addition to serving as the lead social worker for their assigned team. Act as a surrogate to the ICMHR Program Manager for CPRS purposes, co-signing notes/consults/orders and providing clinical guidance when appropriate or necessary. Provide evidence-based and recovery-oriented practices as part of the ICMHR program to include: Social Skills Training (SST), Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Life Goals. Coordinates care, including serving as an advocate on behalf of Veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery, and linking and referring Veterans to the VA Medical Center, VA Regional Offices, and/or community agencies. Must possess and maintain a current valid state driver's license. Actively participates in ICMHR Program conference calls and attends training offered by the National ICMHR Program. Actively participates in program planning and development, advising the supervisor of shifting trends with caseloads, and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedures or policy changes based upon work experiences. Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice, which include: individual psychotherapy, family therapy, group education/counseling, discharge planning, crisis intervention/safety planning, treatment planning, case management, and other services as appropriate. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Anthony Salas, anthony.salas3@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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 employmen…

Qualifications

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. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken & written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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/. Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline. 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. 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…

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/.