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 incumbent provides Mental Health services to the Veteran population. He/she will work primarily in the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) but, will lend their services as well to the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic (MHC), and Substance Use Disorder Program (SUDP). The PRRC is a transitional learning center for outpatient Veterans with series mental illness (SMI). The program is designed to assist these Veterans with significant functional impairment to integrate into meaningful, self-determined community roles. The incumbent provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice, which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate. He/she provides ongoing therapeutic intervention with the Veteran and their significant other to identify and address goals of rehabilitation, recovery, health maintenance, improve quality of life, and community integration in addition to specified treatment of medical conditions, mental illnesses, addictive disorders, and/or homelessness. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Performs specialized assessment and treatment of complex physical or mental illness, beginning with an assessment of the veteran, in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the veteran, family members and significant others. The goal of the assessment is to highlight the veteran's strengths, limitations, internal/external supports, and service needs, in order to optimize the veteran's functional status, support patient coping in the community and identify the need for transition to higher levels of care when appropriate. Developing the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the veteran/family. The incumbent is able to provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions, according to the needs of the individual case. Providing Individual recovery planning, Individual psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, and/or supportive therapy to assist with defining/realizing the Veterans' preferred life roles and goals), Social skills training classes, Psycho-educational classes, Illness management classes, Wellness programming to promote an active and health lifestyle (e.g., nutrition, importance of regular meals, sleep hygiene, exercise, smoking cessation, health leisure activities, weight management, pain management, chronic disease management), Family psychoeducational and family educational programs, Peer Support Services, and Treatment of co-occurring substance use disorders. Making rapid assessments of at-risk patients, and in recognizing opportunities to intervene to avert crisis or to identify immediate needs and respond to promote patient safety. Developing a working knowledge of pertinent VA and community social service programs and for enhancing working alliances with community contacts to the benefit of veterans. Does outreach into the community to find veterans who are not being served by the VA, assists them in contacting the clinic, and provides liaison between community agencies and VA to benefit the veteran clients. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8AM to 4:30 PM Telework: Telework, if approved, would be on an ADHOC basis. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 570-2937-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: A relocation/recruitment incentive may be authorized for highly qualified applicants. EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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. 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. English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. 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 Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-0185, Veterans Health Administration, dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-12. Physical Requirements: This position is primarily sedentary.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Fresno VA Medical Center 2615 East Clinton Avenue Fresno, CA 93703 US
• Name: Adam Hunter
• Phone: (612) 713-7523
• Email: [email protected]