The Assistant Program Coordinator/Senior Social Worker (MSW) serves as a social worker for the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) at the Brockton campus. The clinical and programmatic activities are within the Intensive Community Integrated Recovery and Treatment (ICIRT) Section for V.A. Boston Mental Health System.

Duties

The social worker makes essential contributions to a comprehensive outpatient psychosocial rehabilitation program that is designed to address recovery for individuals challenged by serious mental health conditions to assist them in reclaiming their life and connect to resources that lead to establishing or reestablishing a meaningful, self-determined community life. Duties in the following areas include: - Independently completing PRRC Intake, Mental Health Outpatient Initial Assessments and Suicide/Homicide Risk Assessments and tracking new consults. Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veterans, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice - Outreaching to ambivalent or difficult-to-engage veterans through multiple interventions - Providing crisis intervention via rapid assessments and/or developing crisis management plans for chronically suicidal veterans as well as safety plans or behavioral contracts around disruptive behaviors, addressing the cause as well as treatment. - Provision of comprehensive evidence-based and recovery-oriented care for veterans with serious mental health conditions thru the application of advanced skill in psychiatric rehabilitation approaches and advanced social work theory and techniques to working with serious mentally ill patients within VHA or other healthcare systems e.g. groups, individual treatment, family treatments, high risk screenings, and rapid, complex intake, Motivational Interviewing, CBT for Psychosis, Social Skills Training, Multi-Family Group/Family consultation, Illness Management and Recovery, and community inclusion. - Flexibility of contacts (Veterans are seen in the community and with any person or agency to promote community inclusion) that includes a hybrid model of in-person and virtual care which the social worker provides oversight for these distributed activities as assigned. - A focus on strengthening the patient's ability to address acute and chronic problems by developing strategies for maintaining wellness and provision of a therapeutic and supportive learning environment for Veterans designed to maximize functioning in all domains of health and life. - Mobilization of natural supports and community resources to promote community inclusion that emphasizes independent, self-directed engagement in community activities and roles - Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families, offering and developing utilization of family consultation and therapy modalities - Independently transports veterans for transitional assistance to overcome barriers and aid Veteran in achieving independent involvement in meaningful life roles in the community. - Providing individual ongoing recovery-oriented psychotherapy as indicated for veterans - Discussion and implementation of advanced directives with the veterans and assisting them in formulating their medical and mental health preferences - Arranging and leading meetings with veterans, families, guardians, and other providers - Clinical consultation and training for VA residents, trainees, staff and volunteers on psychosocial rehabilitation implementation of best practices and to actively engage in expanding their knowledge, skills and attitudes that fully embrace the recovery values in all areas of practice and program. Provides guidance and assistance to other program with respect to dissemination such as in the advancement of national initiatives of MBC, VVC, and Whole Health. - Provides leadership with the interdisciplinary treatment team in the development of individualized veteran-centered goals in the recovery-oriented treatment plan every 4 months and uses empirically-supported instruments for monitoring progress/outcomes, and appropriate transition. - Represents the PRRC in outreach to both professional and community resources, provides resource development, and establishes and maintains community connections that facilitate recovery for consumers with SMI. Examples include recovery organizations, referral sources, veterans' groups, educational institutions, and clinically relevant publications and websites. Collaborates with staff from other facilities, as needed, representing the PRRC Program and educates veteran and significant others on available resources and establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference. - Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of practice and services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services based on the National PRRC Directive. Provides supervision for unlicensed and adjunctive staff both formally and informally as assigned Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:F0001 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. b. 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. c. 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/. (c) Different states have different levels of licensure or certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level. Each state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice. Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services, and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social worker's level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work. The ASWB offers three examinations. The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification, while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification. Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application. (3) 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. d. 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 DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (1) Experience/Education. 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. (2) Licensure/Certification. 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management.

Education

This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

Social Worker, GS-11 (Full Performance level)

Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level
OR
(2) Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
(b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
(c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
(d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
(e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.

Assignments [Full Performance Level]. This is the full performance level. Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. Incumbents are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. They independently formulate and implement a treatment plan including measurable, achievable goals identifying the Veterans' needs, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Social workers serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility and VISN level or in the community.

DEVIATIONS.

1. An approving official may, under unusual circumstances, approve reasonable deviations to the grade determination requirements for an employee whose composite record of accomplishments, performance, and qualifications, as well as current assignment, warrants such action based on demonstrated competence to meet the requirements of the proposed grade.
2. Under no circumstances will the educational requirements be waived. Under no circumstances will licensure requirements be waived for positions at the GS-11 grade level or above.
3. The placement of individuals in grade levels or assignments not described in this standard must be approved by the Under Secretary for Health or designee in VHA Central Office prior to placement in the position.

Preferred Experience: Evidence of training in and utilization of recovery-oriented evidence-based therapies (EBT's) for serious mental health conditions is also preferred i.e., CBT p, ACT for Psychosis, SST, MI and IMR

References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard GS-185 Veterans Health Administration.

The full performance level of this vacancy GS-12.

Physical Requirements: : No special physical qualifications are required to perform the work. The work requires the ability to move around the office and facility. The work is performed in offices and meeting rooms and is largely sedentary. (See VA Directive and Handbook 5019) The work can be mentally and psychologically demanding and stressful, and the ability to utilize effective coping and self-care strategies is essential.


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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Tracy Mesler
• Phone: (734) 545-3004
• Email: [email protected]