The selected Senior Social Worker will be assigned to the At-Risk Monitoring and Outreach (ARMOR) Program and will serve as an advanced practice consultant on all topics related to suicide prevention to all disciplines within corporate Orlando. The selectee works with Veterans who are experiencing a wide range of complicated mental, emotional, behavioral, physical, psychosocial, and environmental problems, and who have been deemed to be at high risk for self-harm.

Duties

The primary responsibilities of the Suicide Prevention Senior Social Worker are to provide care coordination to ensure a comprehensive and holistic treatment plan for Veterans who have been deemed to be at high risk for self-harm has been created, to respond to Veteran Crisis Line calls, and to provide leadership, direction, coaching and training to the multidisciplinary team members of OVAHCS. The incumbent must be licensed or certified to practice independently as they will be responsible for consulting and making decisions regarding the care of at-risk Veterans during WHEN hours. On­site supervision will be minimal and the Suicide Prevention Senior Social Worker will be seen as the subject matter expert by those with less training. Responsibilities also include providing education to all front line and clinical staff regarding risk factors and protective factors for suicide, and educating clinical staff regarding safety planning with their patients. Some of the duties include, but are not limited to; Uses highly developed professional, clinical and advanced practice skills to routinely treat Veterans with complex problems. High level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems and suicidal risk factors associated with this specialty population. Care management responsibilities also include providing crisis intervention services to those Veterans with high suicidal risk factors and/or plan. Develops and implements an ongoing education plan for providers, Veterans, families, and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide, and treatment options. Independently provide ongoing case management for Veterans who have been deemed to be at high risk for self-harm and who are not assigned to a specialty mental health team. Will use their expertise and advanced practice clinical skills to complete psychosocial assessment with diagnosis, develops treatment plan, and collaborates with other providers involved with the Veteran's care. Will work collaboratively with clinical staff using advance practice skills to address care coordination and case management of Veterans who are rated as high risk for suicide. Tracks Veterans identified as high risk and assists in the coordination and scheduling of mandatory follow up appointments. Conducts outreach activities and work with community-based and VA programs to provide education regarding suicide prevention. Provides referrals to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social services or other non-VA entitlement programs. Develops working relationships with other organizations having responsibility for the Veterans who are at high risk for suicide. Maintains a current and comprehensive network of referral resources. Has the ability to serve Veterans who may experience frequent and severe crises, or need assistance in development an adequate community support network, those experience ambivalence in compliance with treatment goals, or may have significant deficits in coping and require continuing professional psychosocial support. Monitors Veteran's progress, and maintains comprehensive documentation, ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders, and shows competent discretion in decision to adjust treatment. Based on psychosocial assessment, the incumbent uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make psychosocial diagnosis regarding suicide prevention. Conducts staff development programs for mental health service and takes responsibility for providing opportunities to help staff update their mental health professional practice skills and acquire new knowledge related to National and local policies procedures for implementation of suicide risk assessments, crisis intervention practices for those Veterans with high acuity and/or at risk for suicide. May be a field instructor or preceptor and supervise Social Work graduate students, providing a training experience in Social Work. Conducts and/or participates in research and/or program evaluation as appropriate as well as may be asked to provide programmatic data for monthly reports and/or Action Items related to Suicide Prevention services and metrics such as SPED, monthly outreach reports, and data related to the Suicide High Risk list. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am to 4:30pm. However, the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis, based on the needs of the service and patient care. Telework: May be available - Ad Hoc (as necessary or needed) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker (Suicide Prevention) #80507F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement,11/06/2023. 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. Education: Must 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: 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/. (NOTE: For those who have a Florida LCSW license, you must be registered with the state as a "Qualified Supervisor" in order to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certification. All others must meet the requirements of their state of licensure to be able to provide supervision for licensure.) English Language: Must be proficient in spoken and written English Driver's License: A current, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. 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). 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. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience: Must have a least two years of specialized 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. Licensure: 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. Preferred Experience: Those candidates with previous experience working with Veterans in Acute Mental Health and Suicidal Crisis, are highly preferred. In addition, those candidates who have experience with suicide assessments and quality safety planning are also preferred. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort, such as that involved in lifting light files, bending, standing, reaching, operating office equipment such as telephone, copier, fax machine, scanner, etc. The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty.

Education

Must 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.

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 Orlando VA Medical Center 13800 Veterans Way Orlando, FL 32827 US
• Name: Christopher Cacciapaglia
• Phone: (407) 432-5810
• Email: [email protected]