Career Center

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. 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. 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/. NOTE: Licenses from the state of Alabama no longer meet VA regulatory requirements for independent licensure. If you are licensed in the State of Alabama, you must also be licensed at the Independent Level in another state Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Preferred Experience:GS-12 Experience serving on a VA Suicide Prevention team. Experience in delivering unscheduled (i.e., same day) care and crisis management Experience in working on a Behavioral Health interdisciplinary team and coordinating care with other service providers Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience and 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. Individuals assigned Senior Social Worker must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. NOTE: Licenses from the state of Alabama no longer meet VA regulatory requirements for independent licensure. To qualify for the assignment of Senior Social Worker at the GS-12 level, you must have 2 years of experience at the advanced practice level, earned while having an active, unrestricted advanced practice license in a U.S. state or territory other than Alabama. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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 Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39, September 10, 2019 The grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Senior Social Worker serves as the Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator (CEPC) within the West Texas VA HCS (WTVAHCS) and is administratively within the Behavioral Health Service Line. The CEPC serves as a content matter expert for community-based suicide prevention and facilitates integration of suicide prevention education throughout the community. The CEPC supports community capacity development for suicide prevention by organizing community partners and coalitions to implement suicide prevention programs aimed at reducing Veteran suicide at the community, state, and Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) levels. The CEPC serves as a content matter expert for suicide prevention and facilitates integration of suicide prevention education throughout the community by developing and organizing community partners and coalitions aimed at reducing Veteran suicide at the community and state level. The CEPC is a subject matter expert (SME) in state and local community suicide prevention resources and education connections. The CEPC promotes a public health approach to suicide prevention. 1. Coalition Development and Management: Develops, facilitates, and strengthens Community-Based Interventions for Suicide Prevention (CBI-SP) at the community and state levels aimed at reducing Veteran suicide through coalition facilitation. a. Coalitions are defined as groups of people, representing diverse organizations or factions within a community, who have come together to work toward common goals. 2. Community Education: Collaborates with VA Medical Centers to connect with VA programs and community stakeholders, which may include, Veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, community partners, and community members throughout the health care systems' catchment area to provide education on suicide prevention (SP) related topics and services. 3. Community Engagement: CEPCs should complete a landscape analysis to help determine areas where efforts will have the most impact. While low and moderate impact activities may be a minimal portion of the CEPC role; CEPC efforts should primarily be focused on the high impact activities listed below. CEPC activities are designed to enhance community engagement and do not take the place of SPC outreach initiatives. The various levels of impact that CEPCs will consider during their landscape analysis are listed below in the focus areas: a. High Focus Area Coalition (Building/Meetings): CEPCs will be working closely with their facility Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) for direction on how to manage community engagement and media interaction. CEPCs should collaborate with their facility PAO and clear all engagements by following their local communication plan, which may also include their direct supervisor along with their facility and VISN leadership before engaging with media. Typically, media requests will be managed by coalition leadership and not the CEPC directly. In all the aforementioned areas of work, CEPCs are strongly encouraged to consider diversity, equity ,and inclusion (DEI) when engaging the communities and stakeholders across their catchment areas. CEPCs take a DEI-informed approach to community work to ensure that social determinants of health and disparities within communities are at the forefront of ensuring that coalition membership and efforts (i.e. developing coalitions, conducting landscape analysis, developing action plans) are representative of the array of groups that can benefit from or are interested in supporting suicide prevention among Veterans. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance at visn17edrp2@va.gov. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

Return to Search Results