Senior Social Worker

Summary

This is an OPEN CONTINOUS ANNOUNCEMENT, applications will be accepted until 2/1/2027 or until the vacancy is filled. This Senior Social Worker divides time equally between Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) and the Inpatient Mental Health Unit . The nature and purpose of this work is evaluating Veterans with mental health and substance use problems for care coordination and consideration of hospital admission.

Duties

• The incumbent will work independently in the Emergency Department during weekends days serving as the facility expert consultant on crisis intervention providing 100% face to face clinical care. The incumbent is expected to act as a clinical lead, coordinate programming, assist with process improvement projects, and provide intervention for the Suicide Prevention Initiative from the ED (SPED) and related data reporting. Services provided to Veterans presenting to the ED include crisis intervention and clinical services such as, brief psychotherapy intervention and case management, resource management for homeless veterans, interventions to patients with severe mental illnesses, sleep hygiene counseling, bereavement counseling, substance use disorder education, referral, and resource management, psychiatric hospital admissions, sexual assault counseling, interpersonal violence counseling, and referrals to both VA and non-VA follow up services. The PES senior social worker will independently provide excellent clinical interventions to mitigate the frequency of acute hospitalizations. The incumbent is an also an adjunct case manager on Mondays and Fridays for Veterans admitted to the Inpatient Mental Health Unit (H2-IPU) and performs complex and independent services including evaluation of needs, connection to resources, disposition and discharge planning, recovery-based treatment planning, advanced safety planning for suicide prevention, facilitating unit recovery programming, gathering collateral data from families, and assisting with regulatory compliance aspects of quality assurance for care provided.As a Senior Social Worker, the incumbent assists the Acute Programs Coordinator in planning, establishing, and implementing policies and procedures, as needed. The incumbent tracks and adheres to all current directives of VHA and meets current Joint Commission as well as Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) standards, state licensure standards, and VA-OIG expectations. The incumbent can be asked to assist with any or all the following: Assist with ongoing reviews and appraisals to ensure the accomplishment of objectives and adherence to standards set by governing bodies. Assist with compliance audits. Develop individual therapy, group counseling and general program goals and objectives. Manage and control the use of data related to the program regarding day to day functioning for the purpose of process improvement. Plan, organize and directs program operations, clinical practice, and patient activities for the program. Assist in the identification of qualified MSW candidates for vacant positions and ongoing clinical support and consultation to social work staff on the Inpatient Mental Health Unit. Develop policies and procedures for in the Inpatient Mental Health Unit. Collect and report data related to staffing and resource allocation. The incumbent performs other related duties as assigned. This Senior Social Worker adheres to the NASW Code of Ethics. Work Schedule: Friday - Monday 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. This is a 50/50 position working (4) 10-hour shifts covering both Weekend Days in Psychiatric Emergency Services and Mondays and Fridays on the Secure Inpatient Mental Health Unit.??????? Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 55905-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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. 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 re…

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/.