The MHRRTP Senior Social Worker provides primarily mental health services, related to substance abuse disorders and dual diagnosis disorders, to Veterans admitted to the South Texas Veterans Health Care System residential rehabilitation treatment program. MHRRTP is the umbrella for the array of programs and services that comprise mental health residential care. MHRRTP encompasses the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans and the Domiciliary Substance Use Disorders Programs.

Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to: -Evaluates potential residents, conducts screenings, intakes, psychosocial assessments, groups, individual and family counseling, referrals, collateral contacts, recommending passes, discharge planning and completes required documentation from admission to discharge. -Conducts groups for Veterans who are pending admission to residential care to support their psychosocial stability. Conducts psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational groups in the residential setting. -Works as the case manager of the interdisciplinary treatment team and works to coordinate the Veteran's care while admitted to the program, from admission to discharge. -Provides multiple causation diagnostic evaluations and psychotherapy to Veterans, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. -Completes the C-SSRS, Comprehensive Suicide Risk Assessment, Suicide Behavior Overdose Report, and Suicide Prevention Safety Plan as per national and local policy. -Develop content for individual, family, and group therapy to obtain MHRRTP goals and objectives. -Provide consultation services to colleagues, new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. -Provides education about VA mental health programs to both internal and external stakeholders. Work Schedule: Tuesday-Saturday, 7:30a.m. to 4:00p.m. or 8:00a.m. to 4:30p.m. Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) Education and/or Experience Combination -You 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). 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. Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the master's degree in Social Work. License or Certification - You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Grandfather Provision. A Social Worker employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (9/10/2019) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Licensure Requirement: You 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Experience Requirement: You must possess 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. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 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: -Prior experience in role, setting or working with population -Clinical experience, Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Certification -Clinical Care coordination -Quality or utilization management experience -Prior Veterans Healthcare administration experience Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor and are generally sedentary in nature but may require occasional travel. Physical activity involves sitting, standing, walking, bending, stooping, climbing stairs, and carrying light items such as papers, books, or other supplies. The incumbent uses a computer and standard office equipment to complete tasks. The emotional demands can be stressful in working with the Veteran/Patient population and their families/caregivers. A level of self-awareness is essential.

Education

Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which includes 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. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/.

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Accreditation Information: The master's degree must be 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. 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.

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

NOTE: If your school was accredited by CSWE at the time of graduation, but is no longer listed on the CSWE website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

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 Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]