Social Worker - Primary Care Mental Health Integration

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Great Falls (MT); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Social Worker at the GS-09/GS-11 level for the Great Falls VA Medical Center in Montana.

The role requires MSW from CSWE accredited program and state licensure, with eligibility for the EDRP education loan repayment program and potential grade appointment GS-11 based on experience. Responsibilities include psychosocial assessments, developing and implementing treatment plans for Veterans and families, and coordinating care with Veterans

Qualifications

• MSW from CSWE-accredited program; doctoral degree not a substitute.
• Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at MSW level.

Responsibilities

• Conduct psychosocial assessments and formulate treatment plans.
• Provide counseling and crisis intervention as needed.
• Coordinate care with Veterans, families, and community agencies.

Skills

Counseling Veterans and families

Psychosocial assessment

Treatment planning

Care coordination

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

MSW from CSWE-accredited program

Tools

State licensure

VA-EHR/Health systems

Job description

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. Program 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. 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

• 1- United States Citizenship.
• 2 - 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 https://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
• 3 - 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 https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/social-work-matters/SitePages/Social-Work-Licensure-by-State.aspx

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

GS-09

• 1- Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
• 2- Knowledge, Skills and Assessments (KSAs). In addition, candidates 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, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

GS-11

• 1- Experience and Licensure. A minimum of one (1) 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.
• 2- Education. A doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one (1) year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
• 3- Knowledge, Skills and Assessments (KSAs). In addition, 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

• Experience working within a multidisciplinary team
• Experience working with Veterans
• Competence in handling Veterans experiencing suicidal thoughts and triaging care needs
• Preference given to fully licensed candidates
• Preferred experience in use of VA electronic health record systems and care coordination databases to triage Veteran care needs
• Preferred experience in working with active military and/or Veterans

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-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements: The Incumbent must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the incumbent or others.