Clarification from the agency

1st area of consideration: current permanent VA New Jersey Health Care System employees. 2nd area of consideration: current permanent VA employees and Past/Current/Upcoming VHA HPT Graduates. 3rd area of consideration: other current permanent excepted service federal employees. 4th area of consideration: United States Citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

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The primary goal of the PC-MHI SUDs Social Worker is to provide same-day access for completion of clinical assessments and state-of-the-art substance abuse and recovery-oriented treatment/services to Veterans diagnosed with alcohol and/or substance abuse or dependence.

Duties may include but are not limited to:

- Participate in PACT huddles, meetings, and/or other functions to represent and champion SUD-specific care considerations within primary care
- Promote engagement of Veterans with substance misuse who may be reluctant to begin care within PCMHI or Specialty SUD services.
- Within the primary care setting, raise awareness and understanding regarding the course of SUD recovery (e.g., relapse/remission cycles, chronicity, readiness for change, harm reduction, etc.)
- Assist PACT in streamlining procedures for standard screening (e.g., AUD-C) and referral (e.g., same day warm handoffs)
- Utilize proactive patient identification and outreach activities related to substance misuse for the PACT population
- Serve as team Subject Matter Expert and Point of Contact related to SUD concerns within PACT, with emphasis on Opiate and Alcohol Use Disorders
- Provide education and training to PACT about SUD care (e.g., brief interventions, motivational interviewing, harm reduction, biopsychosocial factors, etc.)
- Offer formal or curbside consultation regarding the treatment of SUD within primary care
- Support and/or deliver PCMHI Collaborative Care Management for Veterans with substance misuse concerns
- Deliver SUD-specific, brief, evidence-based, individual or group interventions appropriate for the PACT setting and in collaboration with PCPs
- Leverage telehealth modalities to provide SUD-specific services to patients in PACT at locations that may be more remote or otherwise lack access to such services, as well as to be available for cross-coverage of colleagues as indicated/needed.

Functional Assessments - The Social Worker interviews the Veteran, family member and/or significant other to establish facts about the Veteran's current situation with emphasis on primary concerns identified by Veteran and/or family. In collaboration with the Veteran, family member and/or significant others, the Social Worker, completes an accurate functional assessment in line with PCMHI model of care.

Treatment planning/goal setting - The Social Worker in PCMHI functions as part of the expanded/integrated PACT. As such, agreed upon goals and treatment interventions will added to extend the existing treatment plan as outlined by the PACT PCP.

Provision of clinical services - The Social Worker provides SUDs specific clinical services of 4 to 6 sessions with at least 75% of these sessions being 30 minutes or less (i.e. brief individual psychotherapy, and marital or family counseling), care management services (i.e. education, activation and monitoring of adherence and progress over time following established protocols, scripts and assessment tools), and psycho-educational services to Veterans, family members and/or significant others in support of the Veteran's treatment goals.

Documentation - The Social Worker documents all visits with the Veteran, family member and/or significant other electronically through the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) and completes encounter forms for each visit.

The Social Worker may also clinically oversee social work students or entry level Social Workers if they meet the certification/supervision requirements. Responsibility for clinical oversight includes co-signing all progress notes.

Referrals - The Social Worker has knowledge of the VA and community's service systems and processes to access them. With this knowledge, as well as the Social Worker clinical training, insight, experience, ability to interpret data and identify viable treatment options,

Advocacy - The Social Worker acts as an advocate for Veterans within the hospital system, wider VA, and community services whenever necessary. When appropriate and feasible, the Social Worker educates and encourages Veterans to advocate on their own behalf, thus fostering a sense of empowerment, independence, and assertiveness.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration - The Social Worker participates with other members of the treatment team in attending weekly treatment team meeting, rounds, community meetings, family conferences and other endeavors as needed and appropriate to the role of social work.

Administrative Responsibilities - The Social Worker attends all administrative and programmatic meetings. He/she may perform other duties as assigned.



Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PD25335-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

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:

• 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/.
  • Failure to Obtain License or Certification. In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
  • Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
• 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 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).

Creditable Experience. The candidate must have knowledge of current professional social work practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board.

Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level.

Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of part-time work.

Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., group or family practice. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.

Practicum in a VA Setting. A VHA practicum experience may not be substituted for experience, as the practicum (field placement) is completed prior to graduation with a master's degree in social work.

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-9
(1) Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
(2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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, andtreatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

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-VA 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.

Preferred Experience: State Social Work License at Advanced Practice Level preferred with experience working with Dual Diagnosis population.

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 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-9 to 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.

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.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.