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.

Duties

• *Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.* The Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, Mental Health Service, is currently recruiting for (1) Senior Social Worker to help care for our Veterans at the Shawnee Community Based Outpatient Clinic. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UUTotal Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major Duties and Responsibilities: 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. 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.) 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. Develops an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members, and significant others. Incorporates complex multiple causation in the differential diagnosis and treatment. Must have an understanding of the problems of advancing age and respect for the diversification of the aging Veteran population, being sensitive to human growth and development, age appropriate needs and concerns of the geriatric Veteran and be able to provide current and advanced techniques to the treatment of this Veteran population. Provides individual, group, and (if credentialed and privileged) family psychotherapy and psychoeducational services, as well as advanced case management. Responsible for collaboratively developing the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family. The treatment plan will be completed by the Veteran's third visit for mental health services. The plan will be updated yearly or more frequently if there is a change in the Veteran's condition or needs. Acts as the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources. Assumes a collaborative role with the primary care staff at the CBOCs, providing timely social work and psychological consultations for treatment of Veterans of all eras, including on an emergent or walk-in basis. This may involve open access hours for warm handoff referrals from primary care for consultation, mental health screening, or crisis intervention. Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Wills, and Mental Health Preferences and will refer Veterans/families to the appropriate department and/or personnel for identified health education needs. Responsible for the guidance, training, and orientation of clinical social workers, as well as providing clinical supervision for licensure. Provides consultation to physicians, nurses and other personnel regarding social work services, benefits, and community resources. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm 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 vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual pai…

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: English Proficiency Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Citizenship Must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). Education: 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. 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 SW Licensure Summary by State https://www.aswb.org/licenses/how-to-get-a-license/licensing-requirements-by-state-or-province/. Loss of Licensure or Certification. 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. 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 requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (Above the Full Performance Level) GS 12 Education and Experience. 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…

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/.