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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. 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 Summary by State. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (1) Experience/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. (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: (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. Preferred Experience: Substance Abuse Disorder training and experience preferred. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. ["Responsibilities/General Description: The Stepped-Care Substance Use Disorder Senior Social Worker (SC-SUD) is embedded within, and functions as a member of, the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP), and works across teams, providing support within Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI). The Senior Social Worker supports Veterans in low level interventions (ASAM Level 1.0 and lower) for substance use disorders, and facilitates warm handoffs/transitions between levels of care. The SUD Senior Social Worker works within a stepped care model, treating Veterans with Substance Use Disorders as well as other concurrent mental health problems that impact a Veteran's risk and protective factor profile for relapse. The Senior Social Worker operates on the understanding that there is \"no wrong door\" for Veterans to enter care for substance related problems. They therefore engage Veterans as an initial and ongoing point of contact in these mental health locations, functioning as the Veteran's Mental Health Treatment Coordinator (MHTC), supporting Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) providers, and provide referrals to other teams/agencies as necessary. The Senior Social Worker works in cooperation with the PCMHI SUD Peer Support Specialist, Substance Abuse Treatment Program (SATP) staff, Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT), as well as the staff at other locations of care. The incumbent will be able to fully assess and objectively diagnose mental health disorders, particularly SUD related disorders, conduct psychological screenings and/or assessments, and provide Evidence Based Psychotherapy (EBPs), specifically pertaining to the diagnoses of SUD. The incumbent's primary function is the delivery of individual and group psychotherapy for SUD, which may include, but is not limited to Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for SUD (CBT-SUD), as well as other Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) consistent interventions. The incumbent's clinical work may also at times include the use of evidence based practices for other related conditions such as chronic pain (CBT-CP), depression (IPT, ACT, CBT-D), insomnia (CBT-i), anxiety, etc. as needed, and in support of the primary goal of abstinence/harm reduction and maintenance for substance use disorders. Treatment is provided in person or via tele-mental health modalities, such as Clinical Video Teleconferencing (CVT) or VA Video Connect (VVC). Training in, or a willingness to obtain and complete training in the SUD treatments mentioned above, in addition to others that are job consistent, is expected. Other therapies consistent with the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) pertaining to the treatment Veterans with SUD, and to their families, may be utilized. The incumbent will develop, implement, and document the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 0800-1630 Telework: Available, in accordance with agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Recruitment and Relocation Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact Stacey.Hermann@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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