The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) in this position is assigned to the Veterans Justice Program, located in Homeless Programs under the Social Work Service Line at the Columbia VA Health Care System, and functions as the Veterans Justice Program (VJP) Specialist. VJP Specialist provides a range of services intended to assist justice-involved Veterans.

Duties

The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) in this position is assigned to the Veterans Justice Program, located in Homeless Programs under the Social Work Service Line at the Columbia VA Health Care System, and functions as the Veterans Justice Program (VJP) Specialist. Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) Program Coordinator GS-12 must have one year of experience equivalent to GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. Individuals assigned as Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. The JP Specialist identifies vulnerable Veterans through outreach in criminal justice settings, engagements them in treatment and rehabilitation programs or community support services that will assist to: Prevent their homelessness; Facilitate recovery and readjustment to community; and Desist from commission of new crimes or parole or probation violations. The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) in this position is assigned to the Veterans Justice Program, located in Homeless Programs under the Social Work Service Line at the Columbia VA Health Care System, and functions as the Veterans Justice Program (VJP) Specialist. It a multistage process establishing contact with Veterans, many with mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders, in prison or jail, or otherwise in contact with criminal justice settings, and facilitating their access to a wide range of medical, psychiatric, employment, and social services. The primary Veterans Justice Program Specialist services are: Outreach. Outreach identifies Veterans among persons incarcerated in prison or jail, or otherwise in contact with criminal justice agencies. Engaging Veterans in participation in a treatment-matching assessment and follow-up with services is vital component of outreach. Treat-Matching Assessment. Treatment-matching assessment provides an initial determination of the needs of the Veteran seen by the VJP Specialist and develops an initial plan. Once the Veteran presents at a Veteran medical center following outreach, a clinical assessment to determine medical and psychiatric diagnoses and other biopsychosocial needs , occurs at the time of medical and psychiatric diagnoses and other biopsychosocial needs, occurs at the time of medical or psychiatric evaluation and/or treatment program screening. Direct Services: The VJP Specialist participates in development of a treatment plan for each Veteran contacted through outreach. The treatment plan includes individualized goals and measurable objectives based on relevant psychological, medical, and psychiatric information. Implement the Veterans Justice Program and communicate program participant progress to the Veteran's Treatment Court Team. Develop processes to gain access to criminal justice settings. This may include state and Federal prisons, county and city jails, and courthouses and will involve obtaining appropriate security clearance, completing any required training, and presenting program information to correctional officials and officers. Develop and utilize processes for identifying Veterans in criminal justice settings . Develop processes for verifying the Veteran status and VHA eligibility of justice-involved Veterans. Establish and maintain points of contact with all major clinical services at each VA medical facility where Veterans will be referred to facilitate entry into those services. Identify VA and non-VA resources that can assist justice-involved and reentry Veterans with their community stabilization process. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday Tours of duty may be subject to change temporarily due to program and Veteran need. Tours of duty are established based first on program need then employee preference. Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 544-54487F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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: Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling. CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from Directory - CACREP. NOTE: Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0183 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment. English Language Proficiency. LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j. 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). 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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. Knowledge, Skills And Abilities: n addition to the experience and education listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities listed in the job announcement: 1. Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differentialdiagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority for services and provide specialized treatment services. 2. Advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used inspecialty 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 interventions used in the treatment of veterans with polytraumatic injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. 3. Advanced knowledge and expert skill 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. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on empirical findings. 4. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty area, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications. 5. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the profession, demonstrating innovation in the creation of new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address specialized clinical needs. Ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the specialty population or specialty treatment program. Assignments. Senior Social Workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior Social Workers typically practice in a major specialty treatment program area, such as a Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal CordInjury 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 is assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. They are also assigned in settings where they have no access to social work supervision, such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. They may be assigned to work with special patient populations with highly-complex health or mental health problems requiring expert level psychosocial interventions, such as VA/DOD liaisons assigned to Military Treatment Facilities as part of seamless transition or social worker case managers in (ICMHR) programs. Preferred Experience: previous work experience with the homeless population preferred. Valid Drivers license required. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G39 http://vaww.va.gov/ohrm/Directives-Handbooks/Documents/5005.pdfThe actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting, under 15 pounds; light carrying, under 15 pounds; walking (2 hours); standing (2 hours); ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing (aid permitted); mental and emotional stability. Subject to dry atmospheric conditions; constant noise; dust; working closely with others; working alone. IMPORTANT: You must have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council of 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.

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 Columbia VA Health Care System 6439 Garners Ferry Road Columbia, SC 29209 US
• Name: Tamera Pryor
• Phone: 205-454-2575
• Email: [email protected]