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

St. Louis VA Healthcare System is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans. VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws VA Careers - Physical Therapy: https://youtube.com/embed/Gi2hoFqIoqY VA Careers - Prosthetics: https://youtube.com/embed/3NUvF5jjErQ VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The HOPE Outreach SUD Senior Social Worker is the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Specialist for the VA St. Louis Health Care System's Homeless Department also known as HOPE (Homeless, Outreach, prevention and Education) Programs. This position provides clinical SUD case management and interventions to Veterans receiving outreach and engagement services through HOPE and community partners such as Support Services for Veterans Families (SSVF). The Incumbent supports Homeless and Prevention programs by providing low barrier engagement and continuity of care between VA Homeless Programs and community partners. Duties include, but not limited to: Completes thorough psychological, risk, clinical diagnostics inventories, differential diagnostic assessment, and complex case conceptualization incorporating complex multiple causation to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their families. The incumbent will demonstrate competence and confidence in diagnosing mental health conditions and identifying correlating evidence-informed or EBP/EBPI treatment interventions for this high-risk population and must demonstrate mastery in independently conducting the required advanced treatments for this population (e.g., CBT-SUD, CPT, PE, COPE) as first line considerations in treatment planning. The incumbent routinely uses MBC to monitor progress and inform treatment planning. For complex or treatment resistant conditions, the incumbent uses team-based consultation to inform updates or modifications to the treatment plan, as needed. Provides consultation to other VA treatment team and staff members, as well as community providers, regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning, treatment progress, and graduation/discharge planning. The incumbent will maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with Joint Commission, OIG etc., VA and VA Health Care policy and procedures. Liaisons with VA Substance Abuse Treatment Programs locally and nationally as required to access specialized services. Serves on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility as deemed appropriate by the supervisor. Specifically, the incumbent will act as the subject matter expert on integrating Homelessness and SUD treatment into outpatient mental health programming and will analyze and provide recommendations to management for improvement, based on established strategic planning goals for the department. Responsible for development of written policies and procedures for Homeless Department SUD service delivery with special consideration for services in community settings; leads SUD strategic planning for department as representative for medical center initiatives for Homeless Veterans. Monitors Homeless Department's compliance with VHA Homeless, Mental Health and SUD related directives, handbooks, memos, and all other program-related guidance. Tracks facility Homelessness/SUD metrics and ensures processes are enacted to meet those metrics, to include outcome evaluations to further treatment and design of system changes based on empirical findings. Establishing connections with MH service to help expand and enhance existing Homelessness/SUD services. Perform other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Compressed/Flexible: Not available Telework: Ad-Hoc only. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Up to 15% authorized with service agreement. EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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. 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/. Different states have different levels of licensure or certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level. Each state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice. Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services, and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social worker's level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work. The ASWB offers three examinations. The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification, while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification. Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application. 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). Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 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 HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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 St Louis Health Care System 1 Jefferson Barracks Drive St. Louis, MO 63125 US
• Name: Juan Santos
• Email: [email protected]