The Veterans Health Administration, VHA, is currently recruiting for one GS 9 target 11 as a Social Worker, a Marriage Family Therapist, or a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor to work in the Mental Health-Outpatient-Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program.

Duties

Social Worker-Outpatient-Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program, BHIP-duties include but aren't limited to: Provides Veteran-centered, recovery-oriented & evidence-based care Functions as a mental health therapist for Veterans on a BHIP team Is responsible for providing patient-centered, evidence-based care independently & autonomously Provides services to Veterans, their families & the interdisciplinary team regarding evaluation, identification and treatment of psycho-social concerns & psychiatric diagnoses in the outpatient behavioral health setting Duties include outpatient behavioral health services & crisis response to veterans w/ the full spectrum of mental health disorders including Serious Mental Illness, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, other mental health diagnoses & Substance Use Disorders Has working knowledge & experience in the use of mental health diagnoses & basic medical terminology Assesses & treats Veterans' complicated psychosocial problems Independently identifies high-risk patients & implements appropriate safety protocols Provides crisis intervention services & has working knowledge of referral process for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and residential PTSD, SUDS & other specialty programs Assesses patient to determine: the presenting problem, in-home factors impacting it, obstacles to recovery & provide follow-up in regard to recommended treatments Case management w/ members of the outpatient interdisciplinary team is provided as needed to coordinate a collaborative effort to meet the agreed upon goals for a Veteran's recovery needs & includes serving as a liaison w/ community professionals in regard to services for Veterans&/or their families Services include but are not limited to referral to programming to address homelessness, hospice services, nursing home care, home health services, financial resources, VA benefits & transportation services Establishes & maintains effective therapeutic relationships w/ Veterans in the outpatient behavioral health setting &/or their families Independently works w/ Veterans and/or their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral &/or psychosocial problems Must independently complete thorough psychosocial assessments to determine the diagnosis, psychosocial functioning & needs of Veterans &/or their families Uses assessment to facilitate the Veteran's maximum use of treatment to attain the highest level of independence that is possible & practicable Must possess knowledge & ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide educational classes &/or therapeutic groups for Veterans & families via in-person & virtual modalities Utilizes human growth & development principles over the life span and assists Veterans' in coping with the loss and grief experiences from disability & terminal illness Member of interdisciplinary treatment team & actively collaborates w/ Veterans & family & interdisciplinary treatment team to develop & implement treatment plans Provides consultation to other treatment team members regarding Veterans &/or their families psychosocial needs & impacts of identified psychosocial problems on Veteran's health care planning & compliance w/ treatment Uses mental health diagnoses, disabilities & treatment procedures, including acute, chronic & traumatic illnesses, common medications & their effects/side effects & medical terminology Serves as liaison between Veterans &/or their families & VA & community resources to ensure delivery of services Maintains knowledge of Veteran's benefits & services, community resources & process to make appropriate referrals to community/other governmental programs/agencies Possesses skills & knowledge to provide case management services to Veterans & their families throughout continuum of care Possesses/demonstrates ability to communicate effectively, both orally & in writing w/ people from varied backgrounds. treatment goals & interventions Serves as member of interdisciplinary team as a resource for referrals, mental health recommendations & coordinates care Demonstrates I-Care values when interacting w/ all internal/external customers Maintains current knowledge of & practices in accordance w/ The Joint Commission requirements Protects printed & electronic files containing sensitive data according to Federal privacy Act & confidentiality statutes Follows regulations & instructions regarding release of sensitive/protected patient/ employee information May serve on Service Line committees, workgroups, &/or task forces, etc Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: May be available for the highly qualified applicant Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: PD9-436-55411-O, 11-436-55412-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for the highly qualified applicant Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Persons that haven't completed educational/certification/licensure requirements may be referred & tentatively selected but can't be hired until all requirements are met Basic Requirements Citizen Must be US citizen; non-citizens may be appointed if not able to recruit qualified US citizens English Language Proficiency Applicants must be able to speak/write in English Education Have a master's degree in social work from social work school fully accredited by Council on Social Work Education CSWE Graduates of social work schools in candidacy status don't meet this requirement until School of Social Work is fully accredited. Doctoral degrees in social work can't be substituted for masters degree in social work. Visit http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify social work degrees meet accreditation standards. Licensure. Persons hired/reassigned to social worker GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed/certified by states to independently practice social work at master's degree level. For info on current state requirements go to http://vaww.va.gov/ORHM//T38Hybrids Exception. VHA may waive licensure/certification requirements for persons who are otherwise qualified pending state prerequisites for licensure/certification examination completion. Exception only applies for GS-9 grades. Candidates must be licensed/certified for GS-11 grade & above. Supervisor, chief social work/social work executive provides unlicensed/uncertified social worker w/ written requirements for licensure/certification, including deadline license/certification must be obtained by & consequences for not meeting deadline when appointed VHA social workers appointed to GS-9 who aren't licensed/certified when appointed must become licensed/certified at independent, master's level w/in 3 years of their appointment as a social worker. Most states require 2 years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking licensure/certification exam. VHA gives social workers 1 extra year to pass licensure/certification exam. Social workers must become licensed at independent, master's level w/in 1 year of meeting full state prerequisites for licensure in states, e.g. California, Washington, etc. where prerequisites for licensure exceed 2 years. Social workers who doesn't have a license to allow independent practice must be supervised by licensed independent practitioners of the same discipline who's a VA staff member & who has access to electronic health records Different states have different levels of licensure/certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine independent practice levels. Each state, Puerto Rico & the District of Columbia complete surveys identifying licensure/certification levels allowing independent practice. Copies of the surveys are on file in VHA Office of Care Management & Social Work Services & a summary spreadsheet of licensure/certification levels is available to social work professional standards board members to determine if a social worker's licensure/certification levels meet VHA qualification standards. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by ASWB; https://www.aswb.org/. ASWB is association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops & maintains social work licensing examinations used across US & is a central resource for information on social work legal regulations. ASWB offers 3 examinations: master's examination is generally used by states for independent licensure/certification practice levels, advanced generalist & clinical examinations are used for advanced licensure/certification practice levels. Differences between the master's & the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application Failure to Obtain License/Certification. All Social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure/certification starting from appointment date. Failure to become licensed/certified w/in prescribed time limits results in removal from GS-0185 social worker series & may result in employment termination Loss of Licensure/Certification. Once licensed/certified, social workers must maintain full, valid & unrestricted independent license/certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure/certification will result in removal from GS-0185 social worker series & may result in employment termination Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA in occupation on effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for title, series & grade held, including positive education & licensure/certification that are part of basic occupation requirements. Employees who don't meet all basic requirements in this standard, but who met qualifications applicable to position at time they were appointed to it, following provisions apply Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to & including full performance, journey level, or changed to lower grade w/in occupation, but may not be promoted beyond journey level or placed in supervisory/managerial positions Employees appointed on a temporary basis prior to qualification standard effective date may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet standard basic requirements Employees initially grandfathered into occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education &/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all standard qualification basic requirements must maintain required credentials as a condition of employment in occupation If employee who was retained in occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves the occupation, employee loses protected status & must meet full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at time of reentry to occupation NOTE: If social workers covered under grandfathering provision of 1991 Federal law regarding licensure/certification of VHA social workers leave GS 0185 social work series, they lose grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to GS-0185 series, they must be licensed/certified to qualify for employment as social workers. Grade Determinations The following criteria must be met when determining grade of candidates in addition to basic requirements for employment. GS-9 Experience, Education & Licensure. None beyond basic requirements AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities, KSAs. Candidates must demonstrate the following KSAs in addition to above experience 1) Ability to work w/ Veterans & family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational & other diversified backgrounds using counseling skills 2) Ability to assess psychosocial functioning & Veterans & their family members' needs & to formulate/implement a treatment plan, identifying Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills & assistance needed 3) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working w/ individuals, families & groups to achieve treatment goals. Requires judgment/skill using supportive, problem solving/crisis intervention techniques 4) Ability to establish/maintain effective working relationships & communicate w/ clients, staff & community agency representatives 5) Medical & mental health diagnoses, disabilities & treatment procedures fundamental knowledge: including acute, chronic & traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications/their effects/side effects & medical terminology GS-11 Experience & Licensure Appointment to GS-11 grade level requires completion of minimum of 1 year of post-MSW experience equivalent to GS-9 grade in health care field or other social work-related settings, VA/non-VA experience & licensure/certification in a state at the independent practice level Qualifications cond. in Additional Information section below.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Transcripts can be unofficial transcripts, but must include the following: your name, the school's entire name, the name of the course, date course taken, grade received for the course, amount of credits earned for the course, date degree conferred, (if applicable), and the name of degree received, (if applicable).

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 Fort Harrison VA Medical Center 3687 Veterans Drive Fort Harrison, MT 59636 US
• Name: Jeannie Wright
• Phone: (970) 263-6272
• Email: [email protected]