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

This Senior Social Worker is assigned to the Substance Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Program in the Community and Residential Care Services (CRCS) Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP) Mental Health Service. Advanced practice level is the ability to provide independent and expert clinical psychosocial case management services in a specialized area of practice to Veterans who experience acute crises, may lack familial and community support, may need encouragement to engage in self-care, may struggle with compliance, or may have major deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. The Senior Social Worker has an increased depth and breadth of practice skills; has expertise in participating in the professional development of colleagues through mentorship and teaching; demonstrates leadership in developing and expanding professional intervention strategies; demonstrates leadership in defining and attending to professional practice issues; and has the ability to expand the conceptual knowledge of the profession. The Senior Social Worker has mastered a range of specialized interventions and provides consultation to colleagues, renders professional opinions based on experience and expertise, develops new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention, and incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnoses and treatment. Outcome evaluations are utilized to further treatment and designs system changes based on empirical findings. Must provide individual therapy, group therapy, and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans enrolled in the MHRRTP who experience a wide array of mental health and substance use diagnoses including anxiety, mood and adjustment disorders, psychotic disorders, polytrauma injuries, traumatic brain injuries, substance use disorders, and other serious mental health disorders. Work is primarily with Veterans who have complex mental health needs and multiple co-occurring substance use disorders. The Senior Social Worker must be licensed at the advance practice level and demonstrate specialized knowledge of Substance Use Disorders, PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, and other significant mental health disorders concurrent to the management of psychosocial stressors. Working independently across fields and service lines is expected. The Social Worker may serve to coordinate compliance with national metrics for MHRRTP (e.g., HOMES, NEPEC, MBC) and compliance with oversight boards (e.g., CARF, JHACO). This provider regularly communicates with the MHRRTP Program Managers, Domiciliary Chief/Section Director, and the National MHRRTP office. Some of the major duties and responsibilities of the Senior Social Worker include:

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS 1. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 2. 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. 3. 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/. GRADE REQUIREMENTS: GS-12 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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. Note:Clearly describe how you meet these KSAs in your resume; we cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Preferred Experience: Case management experience with SUD, group therapy experience preferred. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The position requires light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds) and use of fingers. You must be able to work alone and work closely with others, there will be exposure to individuals having psychiatric and physical illness.

Education

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP). If selected for this position, you are encouraged to apply for EDRP within four (4) months of appointment and must meet specific individual eligibility criteria in accordance with VHA Policy 1021. Final award amount and program start date is determined after review of a complete EDRP application, supporting documentation, and final approval by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services office. Please contact the EDRP Coordinators @ [email protected]

IMPORTANT: This position has a positive education or training requirement. An unofficial copy of college transcripts showing completion of the required degree or program is required and must include the name of the school, your name, date conferred, and degree type.

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 Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Joe Julkowski
• Phone: 509-434-7382
• Email: [email protected]