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
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
The Senior Social Worker serves in conjunction with Suicide Prevention Program and other facility staff to provide individualized comprehensive care coordination, clinical services and crisis intervention to Veterans identified as high risk for suicide. The Senior Social Worker uses a high level of skill in assessing and managing the complicated psychosocial problems of identified high-risk Veterans who are experiencing a wide range of complicated mental, emotional, behavioral, physical, psychosocial, and environmental issues to include but not limited to acute and chronic illness, combat stress, the residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), community adjustment, and addictions.
Case management responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- personal contact with all high-risk Veterans assigned to the incumbent's caseload including those who have been identified as surviving a suicide attempt within the past 90 days and/or those who have received a Patient Record Flag for High Risk for Suicide;
- provision of a minimum of one contact with all high-risk Veterans assigned for the duration of the HRS-PRF;
- in conjunction with the treatment team, ensuring a Suicide Safety Plan has been completed and is routinely updated;
- in conjunction with the treatment team, ensuring ongoing suicide risk assessments are completed;
- in conjunction with the treatment team, ensure that all high-risk Veterans receive comprehensive mental health care;
- participation in treatment team meetings/staffings and staff consultation to assist treatment team members with management of high risk Veterans;
- provision of evidenced-based treatment strategies to high-risk Veterans (e.g. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Problem Solving Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality) and completion of specialized training and/or certification in evidenced-based treatment for high-risk behavior as needed;
- review/provision of comprehensive discharge planning and social service referrals to high- risk Veterans and families;
- no show and appointment cancellation follow-up - consulting with and assisting treatment team members with follow up contact attempts for Veterans on the high risk list who have no showed or cancelled appointments when the care team has been unable to contact them
- ensuring that identified high-risk Veterans have been provided with the Veterans Crisis Line 24-hour resource number to call and/or other strategies for receiving assistance if an immediate crisis should occur;
- obtaining relevant release of information documentation in compliance with HIPAA and other federal mandates to allow transmittal of facility data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk and transmitting the data following cyber security requirements as applicable for this sensitive data;
- participation and assistance with facilitating high risk for suicide staffings to determine initial, continuation, or removal of high risk status;
- respond to new referrals from staff members, VCL, or other touch points for determination of high risk status;
- provide consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial and psychiatric treatment of Veterans at high risk for suicide, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills.
Duties are continued in the Education section of this announcement.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM
Telework: Regular/Recurring Telework 6+ Days/ Per Pay Period
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Authorized,
Recruitment Incentives may be authorized to full-time, part time[,] or intermittent individuals in their first appointment as a Federal employee or to a newly appointed former Federal employee with at least a 90-day break in service
Relocation incentives may be authorized to full-time Federal employees who must change worksite[s] and physically relocate to a different geographic area when the approving official determines that without the incentive, it would be difficult to fill the position with a high-quality candidate.
EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator at
[email protected] for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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.
Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.
Note: If your school was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the CSWE website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet. 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.
Duties Continued:
Suicide prevention responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- provision of Operation VA SAVE (warning signs and risk factors of suicide as well as intervention) training to employees, including new employees during New Employee Orientation as well as to community stakeholders including Veterans, family members, Veterans service organizations, and any other agencies that interact with Veterans;
- provision of training for clinical staff to include topics such as suicide risk assessment, safety planning, lethal means counseling, and the self directed violence classification system;
- provision of training to non-clinical staff to manage suicidal callers;
- monthly outreach activities to community stakeholders on suicide prevention in the assigned catchment area, including VATVCBHCS catchment area as needed (activities include but are not limited to VA Town Halls, Veterans benefits and health fairs, Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, Military Welcome Home events, Homeless Stand Downs, Mental Health Summits, professional conferences and presentations, academic programs, state and local suicide prevention groups and organizations, etc.);
- ongoing data tracking using national, VISN, and other local level data collection applications as needed to include suicides, suicide attempts, other serious suicidal behavior and ideation, Veterans identified as high risk, and outreach activities in the VCB catchment area;
- completion of Behavioral Health Autopsy Program (BHAP) and Family Interview Tool - Contact (FIT-C) forms for suicides as assigned;
- participation in administrative committees associated with tracking and monitoring of high-risk Veterans and serving as back-up to other Suicide Prevention Program staff as needed;
- assistance with maintaining and implementing the facility suicide prevention mail program;
- develops and distributes outreach materials to include brochures, fact sheets, web content, and other targeted information which highlights suicide prevention, warning signs and risk factors;
- participates in quality improvement measures including RCA (Root Cause Analysis) process of suicides/suicidal behaviors required to be reviewed by the facility including performance of individual case reviews, active participation on RCA teams, and facilitating the implementation and assessment of system improvements recommended by the team;
- assists with facilitating VACO Suicide Prevention Initiatives at the facility level.
The Senior Social Worker is responsible for responding to consults directed to VATVCBHCS from the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL). The Senior Social Worker is also responsible for responding to direct calls to the VATVCBHCS Suicide Prevention Program from community stakeholders including Veterans, family members, Veterans service organizations, and other community agencies.
- monitors the Crisis Line Web Based Application system for Veterans Crisis Line calls on a daily basis and responds to new and unresolved consults;
- completes VCL consults in the application using nationally defined protocols and populates those consults in the EMR as appropriate;
- coordinates care with treatment team members for identified Veteran concerns;
- facilitates VA care for non-registered/unenrolled Veterans needing care;
- facilitates community referrals for Veterans ineligible for VA care;
- responds to 3rd party calls from family members, friends, community agencies, etc. calling on behalf of Veterans identified as at risk of suicide.
