Summary 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. Responsibilities VA Careers - Social Work: Provide professional, independent, specialized mental health treatment to veterans who are diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders & who are experiencing a wide range of complex medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, & psychosocial problems. These therapeutic relationships also extend to family members. Provides individual, group & family psychotherapy interventions used in the treatment of veterans with substance use disorders & comorbid mental health needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder, & serious mental health disorders. Implement Measurement Based Care for measuring effectiveness of clinical practice & services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Use subjective & objective data in making clinical assessment of the veteran's needs. Uses advanced clinical training, & experience to identify viable treatment options & makes appropriate referrals for care. Develop treatment plans in coordination with RRTP Team Members, including goals for treatment. Makes referrals to other services in the VA, as well as to other agencies, community resources, & other Governmental agencies. Act as a community & family liaison by initiating & maintaining necessary contact with the patient, his/her family, VA Healthcare System service programs & personnel, mental health agencies, & other related resource agencies. Independently assesses the psychosocial functioning & needs of Veterans & family members, identifying the Veteran's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, & psychosocial acuity. The incumbent interviews Veterans & their family members/significant others to establish facts about the Veteran's situation, presenting problems & their causes, & the impact of such problems on the Veteran's functioning & health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. Reviews all data, subjective & objective, & makes a clinical assessment identifying strengths, needs, abilities, & preferences. Assesses & documents identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence. Independently conclude the appropriate action, even in instances where actions can have serious impact on the life of the veteran. Possess expertise in participating in the professional development of colleagues through mentorship & teaching. Establishes & maintains ongoing education programs for Veterans, community agencies, students, & staff to facilitate understanding of counseling interventions specific to the Veteran/Military population. Advocates on behalf of the veteran to ensure that services & benefits are obtained in a timely manner. Receives & completes requests for services (consults) from interdisciplinary team members on complex, difficult cases. Utilizes crisis intervention techniques with Veterans who are in an acute crisis & knows & implements the Suicide Prevention & Management of Suicidal Behavior policy. Possess advanced skill in working with individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy & advanced level psychosocial and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with multiple co-occurring conditions. Demonstrate advanced & expert skill in a range of specialized evidence-based interventions & treatment modalities used for treatment of Substance Use Disorders & other co-morbid mental health conditions. Employ counseling methods & techniques to maintain a therapeutic relationship that will help the Veteran work toward the best way of achieving their goals. Demonstrate ability to tailor treatment plans to individual Veterans needs. Attend interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, updating treatment & discharge plans as appropriate. Develop discharge plans & set achievable discharge goals in consultation with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Coordinate post-discharge services, including VA services & community-based services. Document independently in the medical record, including psychosocial assessments, diagnostic assessments, treatment, progress notes, follow up, & referral. Utilize MBC scores to monitor & track treatment progress. Analyze MBC data & develop performance improvement project to improve treatment services. Provide consultation regarding the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning, compliance with treatment, & discharge planning. Work Schedule: M-F 8-4:30 Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 59217O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT & will remain open until September 15, 2025. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be October 17, 2024, with subsequent cut-off dates once prior certs are returned. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. 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. English Language Proficiency. SW's must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j. Education. Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling. CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from NOTE: Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. Licensure Requirement: You 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Grade Determinations: Experience Requirement: You must possess 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. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: · 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. Preferred Experience: VA experience preferred Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Social Worker 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 social worker or others. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: 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: Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.