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. 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

The Supervisory Mental Health Social Worker has full clinical and administrative supervisory responsibility over the GS-0185 Social Workers located in Mental Health and Behavioral Services programs at VA New Jersey Health Care System (VA NJHCS) within the Social Work Service. The Supervisory Mental Health Social Worker oversees Social Workers in the following complex programs: Acute Psychiatry, Mental Health Clinic, Tele Mental Health program, Emergency Room and Psychiatric Evaluation Unit, Community Based Outpatient Clinics, CORE Day Program, CORE Residential Unit, Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM), Community Recovery Care, TLC, Persistent and Severely Mentally Ill, Opiate Treatment Program, Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Program (SARRTP), Intensive Outpatient Program (IOTP), Community Recover Program (CRP), PTSD Residential Unit, PTSD Outpatient Clinic (PCT) and the Women's Treatment Unit which are located across New Jersey in 2 hospitals and 10 CBOCs. They have full supervisory authority over staff including; daily assignments, emergency coverage, personnel staffing and budget forecasting for travel needs and staffing. The Supervisory Social Worker administers information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of service provided to Veteran patients. Develops and implements information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, inpatient days and patient demographics, equipment utilization and patient satisfaction. The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to these programs regarding day to day functioning and program evaluation. The incumbent implements and evaluates clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization of services. Responsible for coordinating and supervising Social Work staff. He/she is responsible for daily work assignments, treatment services provided, outreach activities, orientation and training. The Supervisory Social Worker plans, organizes and directs administrative, operational, patient and personnel activities for the social workers in these mental health settings. The incumbent is expected to set priorities and make assignments according to capabilities of employees. The Supervisory Social Worker administers information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of service provided to mental health patients. Develop and implements information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, patient demographics, equipment utilization and patient satisfaction. Develops implements and evaluates clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization of services. The incumbent uses sound judgment in the interpretation of Veteran trends and patterns; the application of guidelines; and the recommendation of program enhancements. The incumbent's work is related to the reviewing, monitoring, analysis, planning arid assessment of various staff under his/her purview. Responsible for key project activities related to the planning, development, and implementation of the project component. The incumbent evaluates subordinate's performance and offers instruction, advice or counseling on social work matters. The incumbent attempts to resolve employee concerns and will refer grievances or unresolved complaints using the proper procedure. They effectively handles minor disciplinary measures such as warning and reprimands or recommends action in more serious cases. The Supervisory Social Worker develops policy, procedures and clinical practice guidelines for the mental health Social Work Program in collaboration with facility administrators such as the ACOS for Mental Health and Behavioral Services, his/her assistants and the Chief, Social Work Service. The scope of Social Work services includes: social histories, psychosocial assessments, individual and group therapies, consultation, crisis intervention, inpatient treatment, aftercare outplacement follow-up, student training, program coordination, staff development, and all competencies for patient care services. Such services are carried out in various complex programs such as: acute psychiatry, long term care psychiatry, substance abuse, MHICM, PTSD program, ambulatory care services, MHC, SARRTP, PRRC, and the outpatient clinics. The incumbent shares in the responsibility for administrative input into these programs and judges such input as appropriate, timely, of high quality, and for adequacy. Responsible for the clinical oversight, supervision and evaluation of social work practice in mental health settings. The incumbent will provide clinical services as needed. Additional Duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 49376F EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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: 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. 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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). Creditable Experience. The candidate must have knowledge of current professional social work practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board. Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of part-time work. Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., group or family practice. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Supervisory Social Worker, GS-13 Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as supervisory social workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines. (b) Skill in a range of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement. (c) Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services by supervised social workers. (d) Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion. (e) Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems, develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the service. (f) Ability to provide staff training and development. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 September 10, 2019 The full performance level of this position is a GS-13, which is the actual grade an applicant may be selected for. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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

Contacts

• Address VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: Kelli Bencic
• Phone: 716-458-6982
• Email: [email protected]