The Senior Social Worker is the provider of specialty Mental Health services to the veteran population in the Substance Use Disorder/Intensive Outpatient Program (SUD/IOP) at the VA Caribbean Health Care System located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Duties

The Senior Social Worker is assigned for both administrative and clinical responsibility and operates under the procedures and policies of VHA, VISN and medical center, as well as The Joint Commission, OIG and other regulatory agencies. The incumbent tasks include, but are not limited to: Screening/Assessment - Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. The incumbent has technical, administrative and clinical responsibility in the department, including crisis intervention, provides psychosocial services, conducts thorough suicide assessments, completing the CSRE and safety plans as indicated, evaluates for needed follow-up services, makes community referrals, assists with providing wrap around support to Veterans discharged from the Emergency Department and are pending follow-up mental health or substance use disorder appointments and provides psychosocial consultation to staff, as appropriate. It is the responsibility of the social worker, working within the interdisciplinary treatment team to develop a treatment plan with the veteran based on this assessment. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - Is responsible for developing the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the veteran/family. Discharge Planning Coordination/Referral to service providers - Coordinates Discharge Planning activities on the assigned program involving patient and significant others in order to facilitate this process. Throughout the course of treatment, the social worker is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources. The social worker is responsible for educating the veteran and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference or that of his surrogate decision-maker. Resource Usage/Development - Is responsible for using the current social work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of veterans. The social worker will refer the veteran to needed services. Advocacy - Will educate and encourage the veteran/family to advocate on own behalf when appropriate and feasible, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Crisis Intervention - Is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. In case of an involuntary admission, the social worker is responsible to proceed with the proper communication with Court, in order to ensure State Mental Health Law requirements for involuntary admission. Education/Health promotion and prevention - Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will and will refer veterans/families to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs. Demonstrates the ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications. Coordination of non-institutional and institutional services - Social worker will educate the veteran, their families and the team of all the options available to them and will collaborate with the veteran and family on the preferred option. The incumbent will provide consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits. Evidence Based Therapy/Supportive counseling - Will provide the veterans and their caregivers with Evidence Based Therapy/Supportive counseling. The incumbent will assist patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness and death. State Mental Health Law Requirements Collaboration - will collaborate response to request certifications. Administrative responsibilities - Will enter all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record. The incumbent will work closely with the Senior Leadership in Behavioral Health Sciences to identify processes that improve patient flow, admissions, psychosocial consultation and discharges as they relate to social work consultation for patients seen for mental health and substance use disorder care. The incumbent will participate in committee assignments and will attend all appropriate staff meetings and perform other duties as required. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 61008F Senior Social Worker (BHIP) Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/27/2024 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. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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/. 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 meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. GS-12 Senior Social Workercandidates must have the following: Experience/Education: Must have at least two (2) years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. These are the KSA's for this subject position: 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. Preferred Experience: Experience in substance use area and/or harm reduction principles. Selective Placement Factor (SPF): This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. The SPF for this position is: In addition to the English Language Proficiency, you must also be proficient in basic written and spoken Spanish in order to perform the duties of this position. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is 11. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty.

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.

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 San Juan VA Medical Center 10 Calle Casia San Juan, PR 00921 US
• Name: Yolanda Ortiz-Davila
• Phone: (407) 631-7515
• Email: [email protected]