Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is only open to current permanent employees of Richmond VAMC or its CBOC(s).

Incumbent serves as a social worker at the GS-11 grade at Hunter Holmes McGuire VAMC and is responsible for clinical services providing treatment to patients in MH. Incumbent will provide direct patient care services as part of the team focusing on same day access and crisis needs, and will provide triage assessments, both face to face and by telephone, for Veterans who present with an immediate need for services. The incumbent will be responsible for Transition Clinic linking Veterans with a recent discharge from inpatient psychiatry to wrap around services. Incumbent will also be responsible for 7 day monitor and other measure related to walk-in/immediate service needs. Incumbent will participate on Performance Improvement (PI), Joint Commission, and CARF, and VHA projects as needed. Incumbent will participate in social work on call evening and weekend rotation as assigned.Duties include but not limited to:

• Performs direct clinical services on daily basis for Veterans who present in crisis and/or identify an immediate need for services coordination with other MH services such as psychiatry, ER, and Suicide Prevention as needed to resolve the presenting problem.
• Performs care coordination services as follow up on crisis/service needs resolution through telephone and/or face to face contacts.
• Performs duties to enhance the maintenance of recovery with appropriate internal and external referrals/consults, and community recourse development with the input of the multidisciplinary teams.
• Assist with standard social work duties such as 1010EC, Advance Directives, as part of overall care coordination using standard note titles as directed by Social Work service.
• Complete documentation in accordance with established facility policies and/or standard operating procedures.
• Performs duties related to assigned projects to include but not limited to performance improvement, VISN directives, Joint Commission, and/or CARF accreditation. This will include data management, tracking, reporting of assigned areas of data for this position and the population receiving services.
• Participate in social work on call evening and weekend rotation as assigned.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/03/2020.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS.
The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following:

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).

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/.

VA Handbook 5005/120 September 10, 2019 PART II APPENDIX G39 II-G39-4 social worker.

Physical Requirements.
See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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 y the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standards for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation).

GRADE DETERMINATIONS.
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
Social Worker GS-11:
(1) 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-September 10, 2019 VA Handbook 5005/120PART IIAPPENDIX G39II-G39-7VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c.
OR
(2) 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.
(3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
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 5005/120 Part II Appendix G120 dated 09/10/2019.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily non-strenuous though a significant amount of walking is required for face to face contact with patients, family members and medical staff. Ability to life 5- 10 pounds, mostly documents and/or binders is required. The ability to sit for 1-2 hours, and do substantial computer work.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will review the selected candidate's education and experience and recommend the grade and salary at which the candidate will be placed. For internal selectees eligible for promotion, the board will recommend grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.