Senior Social Worker (PCMHI)

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

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: 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.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part.

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:

GS-12 Senior Social Worker

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.

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

• 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.

References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-0185, Veterans Health Administration, dated September 10, 2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Hearing required (aid permitted).

Responsibilities:

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Subject to change to meet the needs of the Agency
Telework: Telework, if approved, would be on a regularly scheduled basis, but this is not a virtual or remote position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
EDRP Authorized: Contact V21CCOEEDRP@va.gov,, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

The Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Social Worker is assigned to the Northern California Health Care System Mental Health program and functions as part of an interdisciplinary team. The incumbent provides brief assessment and intervention support to the Patient Alignment Care Team (PACT), with an emphasis on integration of mental health services within primary care. The incumbent coordinates service delivery with Primary Care staff and other Mental Health Providers as appropriate.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provides a full range of assessment and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting, especially in the areas of emotional and behavioral problems.
• Provides a range of advanced interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care settings.
• Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues.
• Provides consultation services for primary care providers to maximize the effectiveness of their interventions in reducing health-risk behaviors and enhancing health-promoting behaviors, with a significant emphasis on a prevention-oriented model of care.
• Supports primary care provider (PCP) decision-making, building on PCP interventions and improving PCP patient working relationships.
• Provides clinical care management when appropriate directly to an assigned cohort of patients.
• Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
• Develops person-centered, culturally sensitive treatment plans to address mental health needs of patients.
• Provides consultation and training to Primary Care Service Line staff in the identification and management of common mental and behavioral health disorders that present in a primary care setting.
• Completes all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate.
• Other duties as signed.

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and may be posted up to September 30, 2024. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be November 7, 2023, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st and 15th of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.