Senior Social Worker - Lead In-Patient Mental Health Program

Lead senior social worker for inpatient mental health providing advanced psychosocial assessment, evidence-based treatment, and crisis intervention. Drives complex discharge planning and continuity of care; core member of interdisciplinary team; consults on suicide risk; leads policy development, training, and quality improvement; coordinates community placements; documents care; mentors staff.

Major duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU This position serves as the Inpatient Mental Health Social Work Lead, functioning as the senior clinical social worker and subject matter expert for the Inpatient Mental Health Unit. Higher-level duties described below constitute at least 25% of the Social Worker's assigned work, consistent with the Advanced Practice Level standard. Duties include but are not limited to: Deliver advanced psychosocial assessment, diagnosis, and treatment (individual, group, family, crisis) for high-acuity Veterans on the inpatient mental health unit. Lead complex/high-risk discharge planning; convene care team meetings; coordinate transitions and continuity of care across outpatient/residential programs per VHA Directive 1160.06. Serve as a core member of the Interdisciplinary Treatment Team; participate in twice-weekly ITT reviews and provide senior clinical input on complex cases. Consult on suicide risk assessment and safety planning; provide coverage for suicide prevention activities in the SPC's absence. Design recovery-oriented interventions; collaborate with the Local Recovery Coordinator and address needs of women and LGBTQ+ Veterans in programming and discharge planning. Develop/refine psychosocial assessment and intervention models; evaluate outcomes and lead unit-wide quality improvement/program evaluation. Mentor and guide social workers and trainees; lead orientation/training; provide case consultation and informal supervision. [ Coordinate complex community placements (nursing home/residential treatment); expand VA/community resource networks and manage referrals/negotiations. Ensure accurate documentation in CPRS/Mental Health Suite; uphold unit standards for handoffs and communication. Represent social work on facility/VISN committees/workgroups; draft and maintain unit policies, procedures, and practice guidelines. Support program administration: report trends/problems, ensure compliance with VA/VHA policies, EEO, safety and security; maintain productivity and clinical quality. Provide weekend shift coverage as assigned to ensure continuity of services. Participate in FPPE/OPPE; maintain an IDP; pursue continuing education; provide clinical supervision toward licensure where authorized. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am to 4:30 pm Telework: Ad-hoc Only Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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: 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 SW Licensure by State English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. GS-12 Senior Social Worker: (1) Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience 9 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. (2) Licensure/Certification. Senior social workers 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 they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Requirements

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. 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 evaluation. 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.