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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. Learn more 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: 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. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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. 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. (1) All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (2) Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (3) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (4) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (5) If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. Grade Determinations: Social Worker, GS-11 (1) Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one 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. Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) is required in the state of Ohio. OR (2) Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. 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. 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. 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. 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. Full Performance Level Assignments. This is the full performance level. Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. Incumbents are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary and primarily performed in an office setting. Typical office work involves active listening, reading, observing, and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, writing reports and clinical notes. The position requires the use of office equipment such as computers, keyboards, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines. Visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity are required. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. If required as a condition of employment, the incumbent must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, employee physicals, etc. ["The incumbent is assigned as a Social Worker and the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) specialist in Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI), who works at the interface between primary care and mental health care in an integrated care model. The position is assigned to the Mental Health Service and requires extensive work with veterans diagnosed with medical conditions, mental illnesses, and SUD. The PC-MHI Social Worker assures adequate identification and treatment of a variety of emotional and psychiatric problems of Veterans in a primary care setting with a focus on SUD. The PC-MHI Social Worker works closely with Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) to provide brief assessment, brief counseling, and mental health support for care of Veterans in collaboration with the PACT providers. PC-MHI visits are brief (generally 20-30 minutes), limited in number (1-4 visits), and are provided in the primary care practice area, structured so that the patient views meeting with the behavioral health provider as a routine primary care service. The work is comprised of providing clinical services consistent with accepted standards of ethical and professional mental health treatment. The incumbent functions as a treatment advocate and guide, consultant, counselor and educator while providing integrated outpatient health care. The incumbent may also function as a Behavioral Health Specialist (BHS) or Care manager within the Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL) to assist in the delivery of evidence based care for primary care patients identified with a variety of emotional and psychiatric problems. These responsibilities include monitoring patients, providing education and support, influencing adherence to guidelines by providing \"on-time, on-target\" information to primary care providers, and collaboratively making appropriate care decisions. The incumbent has a broad working knowledge about the rules, regulations and policies of the Dayton VA medical center, Mental Health Service, and the quality assurance practices as they relate to the PC-MHI and understands the significance of the performance measures that pertain to the program. The have specialized knowledge in the area of SUD and appropriate referrals to treatment SUD.\nMajor duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: 1)Functional assessments based on 20-30-minute appointments and will triage/refer to specialty care services as appropriate.\n2)Application of principles of population-based care (defines role and identifies problems rapidly) most of encounters 20-30 minutes (will vary by setting)\n3)Routine brief assessments (e.g., PHQ-9, PCL, AUDIT C, etc.) as available in Behavioral Health Laboratory Software (BHL)\n4)Available for same-day warm-handoffs of PACT patients through open access scheduling.\n5)Brief mental health and behavioral interventions (e.g., 1-4 sessions for broad range of concerns) problem-focused and solution oriented.\n6)Use of time-limited, evidence based, interventions that are simple and concrete\n7)Development of appropriate treatment goals in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the PACT\n8)Intermittent visit strategy and flexible patient contact strategies\n9)Triaging appropriately and efficiently to specialty mental health services\n10)Coordination of community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs\n11)Contacts with patients through written correspondence and telephone calls and conducts follow-up interviews.\n12)Monitoring for suicidal risk at initial evaluations to assist in determining level of care needed, referring to specialty Mental Health Services as needed.\n13)Safety assessments of patients, development of safety plans\n14)Coordination of appropriate level of care for high risk patients, including facilitation of hospitalization when indicated. Work Schedule: Full time, 8:00am-4:30pm, or as determined by agency need.\nTelework: May be available Ad Hoc\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 91553-0\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized\nEDRP Authorized: Contact VISN10HREDRPSLRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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