Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens. Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility. 2. All other VA employees. 3. All other applicants.

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Major duties include but are not limited the following:

The incumbent provides clinical and administrative consultation to VA health care leadership, VA medical center-based committees, and all staff regarding suicide prevention. Using the established chain of command, the incumbent reports any barriers to suicide prevention in the VA medical facility, including patterns of non-adherence to requirements or SOPs. Toward these ends, the incumbent is responsible for the following specific duties:

• Tracking and reporting on Veterans who have attempted suicide or are at high risk for suicide.
• Responding to referrals from the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) and self-referrals from other sources.
• Ensuring that all VA staff members have received discipline-appropriate suicide prevention training (VA S.A.V.E. training or equivalent)
• Collaborating with community organizations and partners to increase awareness of suicide prevention best practices and providing training to individuals who have contact with Veterans.
• Providing subject matter consultation to healthcare providers on available resources for suicidal individuals, as well as expertise and direction in the areas of system design to prevent deaths by suicide within their local VA medical centers.
• Working with health care providers to ensure that monitoring and treatment is intensified for high-risk patients while making sure that those who are at elevated risk receive education and support about approaches to reduce risks.
• Reporting to Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) on Veterans who attempted or died by suicide and sending OSP requested data, which is used to determine characteristics and risks associated with these groups of Veterans.
• Making sure that providers follow up on missed appointments to ensure patient safety for high-risk patients and initiate problem-solving decisions about possible tensions or difficulties in patients' ongoing care.
• Ensuring that medical centers have established a High-Risk for Suicide List (HRSL) of Veterans and a process for establishing Patient Record Flag Category 1 - High Risk for Suicide (HRS-PRFs), which includes:
  • Exclusively controlling all HRS-PRFs and limiting their use to patients who meet the criteria for being placed on the facility HRSL.
  • Coordinating with facility committees that manage PRFs to incorporate the use of HRS-PRFs into overall facility flag processes.
  • Assessing the risk for suicide in individual patients in collaboration with their treating clinicians and ensuring that those patients receive appropriate follow-up care for any missed mental health appointments.
  • Establishing a system of reviewing HRS-PRFs at least every 90 days.
  • Documenting, when appropriate, the nature of the follow-up care and plans for continuing treatment in the electronic health record (EHR).
  • Identifying training needs related to suicide prevention.
  • Maintaining communication with the facility-designated advisory groups to keep them aware of flag placements and review outcomes.
• Implement facility suicide prevention strategies in accordance with VHA policies and clinical practice guidelines.
• Use available online tools, training materials, and resources to enhance the care provided to Veterans and raise awareness among community stakeholders.
• Obtaining any relevant Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) clearances to allow transmittal of medical center data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk to the VA Midwest Health Care Network (VISN 23) for trending quality assurance purposes; and transmitting the data following cyber security requirements as applicable for this sensitive data.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Must possess a valid drivers license.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.)
• 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.
• 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 4 accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 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/.

Grade Determinations:

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. Applicants must meet the requirements for providing supervision in the state where they are licensed at the advanced practice level and should list these qualifications within the assessment narrative and their resume. Documentation is required if part of your state's requirements for providing supervision for licensure is beyond your licensure only (example: certification of continuing education credits).
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs (submission of a document with written demonstration of KSAs is highly recommended with application).
  • 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.

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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, resume, 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.

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. All other applicants.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

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.