The Senior Social Worker is the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Specialist for MHICM Programs. This position provides SUD case management and intervention support to the Mental Health Intensive Casement (MHICM) Program in a team oriented, recovery-based program. The (SUD) Specialist supports the MHICM Program by providing continuity of care between MHICM Programs through services to Veterans with SUDs as mental health recovery.

Duties

The Senior Social Worker provides on-going substance use case management and early treatment interventions following the stage approach of engagement, persuasion, active treatment and relapse prevention to promote sustained stability and abstinence in MHICM enrolled Veterans. Providing SUD treatment support and early intervention can promote recovery, improved quality of life and successful permanent housing. Major duties include: Provide direct SUD services for the MHICM program in the Fayetteville NC Coastal Health Care System and surrounding community. Provide Outreach services for the MHICM program in the community. Provide training for other members of a multidisciplinary treatment team in areas related to SUD assessment, anger management, life skills, and SUD with co-occurring disorders. Independently conduct intake and needs assessment of MHICM Veterans and their significant others. Identifies symptoms leading to clinical diagnoses of SUD. Provide all necessary assessment functions, e.g. interviewing, psychosocial histories, and SUD assessments to aid in the development of treatment plans. Develop comprehensive treatment plans with the Veteran that address the factors that contributed to mental health instability, including SUD and other co-occurring factors within a recovery model framework. Work with the Veteran to realize the Veteran's treatment goals, and reassesses and revises goals as indicated by the Veteran's engagement in treatment. Organize and conduct individual and group case management and SUD treatment, to include early interventions and supportive follow-up to ensure stability. Provide SUD support to the MHICM team as a functional member of the team, to include consultation, interventions, or accompanying other MHICM personnel into the community. Serve as a member of a multidisciplinary MHICM program treatment team. Develop partnerships with community agencies, especially those serving MHICM and SUD Veterans, with regular contact and communication. Provide liaison services with other programs referring SMI diagnosed Veterans to MHICM to ensure continuity of care and promote successful transition of Veterans from one program to another. Provide consultative services to MHICM, as needed. Participate in policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning discussions with other members of MHICM and other MHICM Programs within VISN 6. Provide appropriate clinical documentation for all contacts with or about Veterans. Be responsible for the collection of statistical data and for reviewing the data to improve performance and delivery of services to MHICM Veterans. Provide recovery -oriented treatment with the goal of establishing the Veteran independently in the community at the Veteran's highest level of functioning and quality of life. This position requires a Licensed Chemical Addiction Specialist (or equivalent with reciprocity) in addition to being a License Clinical Social Work (LCSW). Travel is required for this position, you must possess a current Driver's License. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm Functional Statement #/Title: 000000/Social Worker (SUD) Telework: Available, per agency guidance Compressed Work Schedule: Not Available Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Functional Statement #:000000 Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, March 5, 2024. 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. Licensed Chemical Addiction Specialist (or equivalent with reciprocity) in addition to being a License Clinical Social Work (LCSW). Must maintain a valid Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification at all times. Incumbent must have a valid, unrestricted North Carolina or United States driving license if position requires operation of a government vehicle in performance of assigned duties. 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: Must possess a Master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Licensure: Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in written and spoken English to be appointed. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker GS-0185-12: 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. Note: The applicant must be a "Qualified Supervisor" in the state in which they are licensed. Licensure/Certification: Applicants must meet the requirements for providing supervision in the state where they are licensed at the advanced practice level and should list these qualifications within the assessment narrative and their resume. Documentation is required if part of your state's requirements for providing supervision for licensure is beyond your licensure only (example: certification of continuing education credits). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs (Note: a separate document with written demonstration of KSAs must be included with application, see required documents section): (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Licensed Chemical Addiction Specialist (or equivalent with reciprocity) in addition to being a License Clinical Social Work (LCSW). PREFERRED EXPEIENCE: Mental health case management experience Substance abuse experience References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 Physical Requirements: Traveling throughout the medical center and the community is required, as is performing activities involving sitting, walking, and standing, bending and carrying such items as books, papers, and files. In carrying out responsibilities it will be necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where he/she conducts interviews with the veterans, their families representatives of community health and welfare agencies and law enforcement agencies.

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

Contacts

• Address Fayetteville NC VA Medical Center 2300 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28301 US
• Name: Katrina Johnson
• Phone: (948) 205-0766
• Email: [email protected]