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Veterans Health Administration is Hiring a Social Worker (Primary Care - Mental Health Integration) Near Dayton, OH

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.
• 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/.
  • Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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, you must meet the following grade requirements.

GS-9 Social Worker:

Experience, Education, and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

(a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
(b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
(c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
(d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
(e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

GS-11 Social Worker:

Experience and Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.

OR

Education: In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
(b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
(c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
(d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
(e) Ability to provide consultation services to 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.

References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard dated September 10, 2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements: Work is primarily performed in an office setting in the Primary Care clinics located at the Dayton VA Medical Center. Work is mostly sedentary; however, the incumbent must follow appropriate safety procedures as there will be some periods of walking and may involve light lifting, turning, or moving hands, arms, feet, and legs to operate hand and foot controls. The position requires the use of office equipment such as computers, keyboards, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines. Visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity are required. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. May be exposed to infected patients and/or contaminated materials and will be required to take appropriate safety and protective measures.

Responsibilities:

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: The position is assigned to the Mental Health Service and requires extensive work with veterans diagnosed with medical conditions, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders (SUD). The incumbent functions as a treatment advocate and guide, consultant, counselor, and educator while providing integrated outpatient health care. The incumbent will also function as a Behavioral Health Specialist (BHS) or Collaborative Care Manager (CoCM) within the Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL) to assist in the delivery of evidence-based care for primary care patients identified with a variety of emotional and psychiatric problems.

Clinical Functions:

• The incumbent routinely provides curbside consultations with Primary Care Providers (PCP) and other PACT team members about plan of care for patients and provides feedback in a timely manner.
• Functional assessments based on 20-30-minute appointments and triage/referral to specialty care services as appropriate.
• Application of principles of population-based care (defines role and identifies problems rapidly).
• Routine, brief assessments (e.g., PHQ-9, PCL, AUDIT C, etc.) as available in Behavioral Health Laboratory Software (BHL).
• Available for same-day warm-handoffs of PACT patients through open access.
• Brief mental health and behavioral interventions (e.g., 1-4 sessions for broad range of concerns); problem-focused and solution oriented.
• Use of time-limited, evidence based, interventions that are simple and concrete.
• Development of appropriate treatment goals in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the PACT.
• Intermittent visit strategy and flexible patient contact strategies.
• Triaging appropriately and efficiently to specialty mental health services.
• Coordination of community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs.
• Contacts with patients through written correspondence and telephone calls, and conducts follow-up interviews.
• Monitoring for suicidal risk at initial evaluations to assist in determining level of care needed, referring to specialty mental health services as needed.
• Safety planning with Veterans.
• Coordination of appropriate level of care for high-risk patients, including facilitation of hospitalization when indicated.
• Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs.
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness, standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
• Is able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds and has the ability to remain organized.

Administrative Functions:

• Participates in scheduling, triaging, and monitoring the flow of patients in the PC-MHI, including BHL.
• Contributes to interdisciplinary care planning conferences and team huddles/meetings.
• Adheres to and supports operational policies and procedures of the PACT, PC-MHI, MHS and the Medical Center.
• Serves on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN, and/or VA Central Office levels.
• Keeps supervisor appraised of problems and recommends solutions to problems encountered in the incumbent's area of responsibility.
• Responsible for furthering own professional growth through education, appropriate to area of assignment, and providing coverage for other clinical staff, as appropriate within the MHS.
• Maintains a level of productivity and quality consistent with facility and Social Work standards and the complexity of the assignment.
• Complies with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program and safety policies and procedures.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm, or as determined by agency need
Compressed/Flexible: Determined by agency need
Telework: Available, Ad hoc only
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 91619-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact visn10hredrpslrp@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator, for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Job Summary