Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to (Current & Permanent) Federal Employees and US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The Senior Social Worker serves as a member of the Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WVPP).

Duties to include, but not limited to:

• Tasked with conducting, overseeing, and reviewing individualized, evidence-based, data-driven violence risk and threat assessments to determine the likelihood that a patient's or a visitor's disruptive behavior will undermine the culture of safety in the VATVCBHCS
• Engages with the Disruptive Behavior Committee (DBC) in providing consultation to practitioners and staff working with patients who either demonstrate disruptive behaviors or who pose a significant risk of disruptive behavior with the primary goal of assisting the disruptive patient and ensuring that he/she continues to receive the full range of available health care while reducing the risk of disruptive or violent behavior to others.
• Tasked with participating in quality improvement projects around disruptive behavior.
• Supports the WVPP Program Coordinator in responding to VISN and Central Office requests for information about disruptive behavior training information available through DBRS or any data about disruptive behavior incidents.
• Interfaces with VATVCBHCS Police Service and other law enforcement agencies as needed to ensure safety of Veterans and VA staff.
• Responsible for the education, training, implementation of local and national policies, Directives, and Regulatory Requirements pertaining to individualized, evidence-based, data-driven violence risk and violence risk mitigation strategy recommendations.
• The incumbent may serve as the representative for Psychology Service on various Psychology Service, Mental Health Service Line, System or VISN administrative committees or work groups as assigned.
• Supports the WVPP Lead in pulling and reporting facility-level data as needed for answering suspenses.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 56023-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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.
• A current, unrestricted, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position.
• Operation of a motor vehicle is required for this position. A pre-employment examination will be required to validate your ability to operate a motor vehicle. A full physical will not be required.
• 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)

Education:
You must possess 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. Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the master's degree in Social Work.

License or Certification: You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.

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:

Senior Social Worker, GS-0185-12

Licensure Requirement: You 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Advanced practice levelsocial workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which includes 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. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/.

Experience Requirement: You must possess 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. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment.

In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• 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.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience as part of a behavioral threat assessment team
• Experience in providing both operational and/or psychological debriefings to staff
• Experience with crisis intervention and risk assessment
• Experience in verbal de-escalation and limit setting approaches
• Experience delivering formal presentations, didactics, and/or staff trainings
• Experience writing SOPs/briefs, reviewing/implementing Directives, and preparing responses to suspenses

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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

Physical Requirements: A pre-placement examination will be required to be able to determine if the incumbent is able to safely operate a government vehicle. The following requirements must be met:

• distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction,
• field of vision 70 degrees,
• ability to distinguish red, green and amber,
• whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz.

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.

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.