Social Worker (Program Coordinator) serves as a core member of the interdisciplinary Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) which is a specialized program under the administration of the Mental Health Care Line. This individual works autonomously and provides expert level assessment and psychosocial interventions to Veterans with complex presentations who require specialty care to address symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Independently provides a comprehensive psychosocial and diagnostic assessment and integrates it into an overall plan of care in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others, whenever possible. The goal of the assessment is to determine the veteran's treatment needs to address symptoms of PTSD and to highlight the veteran's strengths, limitations, and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the effectiveness of these treatments. The assessment requires a structured diagnostic evaluation and integration of patient self-reported symptoms on relevant clinical measures. Works with the interdisciplinary treatment team, to develop a treatment plan with the Veteran based on this assessment. Possesses the advanced practice skills to independently make a clinical mental health diagnosis and offer psychosocial interventions, and then measures outcomes to interventions. Participates and can lead weekly interdisciplinary residential and outpatient treatment team meetings. Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. Has expert knowledge of Veterans' benefits and services relating to special programs, service connected compensation, and non-service connected pension. Facilitates and prioritizes referrals based upon Veterans needs and eligibility. Incumbent 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 treatment needs. Independently identifies and prioritizes high-risk patients and provides appropriate intervention or referral to mitigate risk. Incumbent has working knowledge and experience in use of mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures. Has advanced knowledge and expertise to independently deliver evidence based psychotherapies for PTSD and other comorbid mental health disorders. Incumbent has the ability to independently and effectively deliver these interventions with high fidelity. The format of these interventions may involve individual, group and family counseling. Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Evaluates own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Incumbent is able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. Has working knowledge and skill in the use of word-processing, data management and other computer systems, especially those programs in use by VHA. Serves as a subject matter expert to colleagues, providing professional opinions and support for psychosocial treatment of this complex population when consulted. The individual also serves as a mentor to other social workers, particularly those at the entry level, and provides clinical supervision for unlicensed social workers. Also supervises social work graduate students and provides a training experience for them in the Social Work Service. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 92712-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

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. 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. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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/ Different states have different levels of licensure or certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level. Each state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice. Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services, and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social worker's level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work. The ASWB offers three examinations. The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification, while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification. Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application. 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. Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the 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. Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. (See Licensure requirements above) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. 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. Program coordinators at the GS 12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program. The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments. They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services

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 Cincinnati VA Medical Center 3200 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45220 US
• Name: Rhonda McCubbin
• Email: [email protected]