The incumbent serves as the COMPACT Care Coordinator (CCC) Senior Social Worker for VA Northern Indiana Health Care System (VANIHCS). The CCC serves in facilitating implementation of COMPACT Act, which includes education of providers, internal stakeholder, external stakeholder, Veterans and their families on COMPACT Act. CCC serves as clinical care team point of contact and facility SME on COMPACT Act.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include: Clinical: (51%) Work in partnership with VAMC VBA, BAS and financial service Work in partnership with the Transitional Care Coordination Team. Actively participate in the treatment planning process with other disciplines and assist with discharge planning. Provide individual, family, and group counseling as appropriate. Face-to-face contact to introduce the Veteran to the "face" of VA Behavioral Health Service while inpatient at the Non-VA inpatient mental health facility. The goal being to optimize continuity of care from the non-VA inpatient mental health facility to the VA outpatient setting Discuss with the Veteran what to expect upon discharge and the reason for such frequent contact Complete the Suicide Prevention Safety Plans while still in the non-VA inpatient facility. Facilitate appropriate hand off with VA Suicide Prevention Program staff to assure continuity of care when needed. Build therapeutic alliances with the Veteran and establishing rapport with the non-VA inpatient mental health facility staff/organization Establish and maintain communication between providers, Veteran, and care team to allow for opportunities for clarification and feedback. Coordination across the spectrum of services. Effective transitions and warm hand-offs. Ensure Veteran's demographics and contact information are up to date and accurate in CPRS. Conduct follow-up home visits when Veteran does not show for first follow-up visit/phone call. Support Veteran's recovery, goals, and preferences for mental health/medical care. Engage in explicit discussions with the Veteran (and caregiver if available) regarding warning symptoms or signs to monitor that may indicate that the Veteran's condition has worsened and who to contact in an emergency. Reduce non-VA inpatient facility readmissions and length of stay to support fiscal accountability and cost-savings. Coach and counsel Veterans and families. Serves as a role model for utilization of appropriate communication and conflict management techniques, effectively guiding and motivating team members. Evaluate practice for a service, based on established professional, community and regulatory standards and recommends/implements changes to meet those standards. Act as liaison between providers, team members, VA and community resources for continuity of care to include identification of need of care at home or alternatives such as outpatient treatment, extended care facility and/or assisted living facility. Performs other duties as assigned. Administration: (40%) Ensures that COMPACT Act information is disseminated to key stakeholders both internal and external. Fully accountable for practice, including entering Veteran visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. Ensures timely completion of assessments, treatment plans, discharge plans, and safety plans using designated COMPACT Act templates and coding. Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional social work practice standards provided in the organization. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Serves as a consultant, liaison, and point of contact for programs within Behavioral Health Service, throughout the hospital, and within the community. Participates in education/CME lectures, research, specialty care programs, and/or clinics as assigned by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health Service or Executive Leadership. Participates in local, VISN, and national committees/community networking activities as requested by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health Service or Executive Leadership. Research/Education/Training: (9%) Participates in research as appropriate through case finding and referral of Veterans to clinical investigators engaged in research or through participating in research studies. Applies new approaches to Veteran care through integration of approved investigative and research methods, basing interventions on evidence-based effectiveness. May engage in Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved research in compliance with VHA Directives and Handbooks, VANIHCS Medical Center Memorandums, BHS Policies and Procedures, and the incumbent's Scope of Practice for conducting such research. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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. 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 the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a master 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. 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). Grade Determinations: GS-12 Senior Social Worker: 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. 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary but may require some physical effort. The work required extensive travel throughout the medical center and into the community. The work may require overnight occasional travel.

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 Northern Indiana HCS 1700 East 38th Street Marion, IN 46953 US
• Name: Katrina Majors
• Phone: 443-421-5813
• Email: [email protected]