Social Worker Seriously Mentally Ill Patient Aligned Care Team SALT LAKE CITY, UT

Job Title:Social Worker (Seriously Mentally Ill/Patient Aligned Care Team)

Department:Department Of Veterans Affairs

Agency:Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

Job Announcement Number:UT-SP4587-2014-1109212

$47,923.00 to $75,376.00 / Per YearThursday, May 01, 2014 to Monday, May 12, 2014Full Time - Excepted Service Permanent1 vacancy in the following location:
Salt Lake City, UT

Vacancy Identification Number (VIN) 1109212

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise – "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" – by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans.  

As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips. Not only is it the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the Nation, but we also provide many other services to Veterans through the Benefits Administration and National Cemeteries. VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities.  For more information on the Department of Veterans Affairs, go to http://federalgovernmentjobs.us/redirect.html?url=104116116112058047047119119119046118097099097114101101114115046118097046103111118

Note:  The full performance level of this vacancy is 11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 09 to 11. The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will review the selected candidate’s education and experience and recommend the grade and step at which the candidate will be placed.  The salary is based on the grade and step approved for the selected candidate.

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.

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized for this position.
Must pass pre-employment examinationMust be proficient in written and spoken EnglishDesignated and-or Random Drug Testing requiredBackground and-or Security Investigation requiredSelective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.

As a Social Worker (Seriously Mentally Ill/Patient Aligned Care Team) you will participate in the SMI/PACT which is a comprehensive Veteran-centric team that delivers primary care to Veteran patients established in the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic in a longitudinal rather than episodic fashion and which focuses on prevention, health promotion, care coordination and chronic disease management. Collaborate and coordinate care with the VASLCHCS hospital inpatient units, Inpatient Psychiatry Unit, Behavioral Health, Outpatient mental health teams, and other VASLCHCS health care teams and community partners in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans ensuring equity of access, service, and benefits to this population. Provide therapeutic services to individuals, families, and groups. Collect, develop, and analyze data using appropriate clinical indicators and monitoring activities to assure that care provided is of the highest quality. Provide consultation with and education to VA staff and community-based service providers including medical residents and social work students regarding the SMI/PACT model of care. Document social work activities and interventions in patient’s clinical record utilizing the computerized patient record system and ensure appropriate care transitions.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm. May be required to work some evening hours and during weekends. Hours will be negotiated with Supervisor.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:   

U.S. citizenship. Non-citizens may 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.Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master’s degree level.Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-185 social work series and may result in termination of employment.
Preferred Experience: Possess 2 years of experience providing assessment, case management, and intervention for patiens in a primary care setting with at least 1 year working with the seriously mentally ill population.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

GRADE DETERMINATIONS:
GS-09
Experience, Education and Licensure. GS-9 is the entry level grade for the GS-185 social work series and is used for social workers with less than one year of post-MSW experience and for social workers who are not yet licensed or certified at the independent practice level. Social workers at the GS-9 level are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure or certification.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
1)Ability to provide psychosocial treatment to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds. This requires knowledge of human development and behavior (physical and psychological), and the differential influences of the environment, society, and culture.
2)Ability to work with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems utilizing individual, group, and family counseling skills. Work with more complex problems is done under close supervision. With guidance from the social work supervisor, ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the patient’s problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
3)Basic knowledge of psychosocial treatment modalities and, under supervision, 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.
4)Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds.
5)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.
6)Basic skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, and tracking. Ability to learn and utilize software programs in use by VHA.
Assignments. Individuals assigned as GS-9 social workers are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised, as they are not yet functioning at the independent practice level conferred by independent licensure or certification. Typically assigned to VHA program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience. Since these social workers are not practicing at an independent level, they should not be assigned to program areas where independent practice is required unless there is a licensed social worker in the program area who can provide supervision for practice. Provide psychosocial services in the assigned area under supervision.

GS-11
Experience, Education and Licensure. Promotion to the GS-11 full performance level requires completion of a minimum of 1 year of post-MSW degree experience in the field of health care social work (VA/non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.
OR
In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required 1 year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
1)Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
2)Ability to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the patient’s problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and assistance needed, in collaboration with the patient, family and interdisciplinary treatment team.
3)Ability to independently conduct psychosocial assessments and provide psychosocial treatment to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. This requires knowledge of human development and behavior (physical and psychological) and the differential influences of the environment, society and culture.
4)Knowledge and experience in the use 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.
5)Knowledge of psychosocial treatment and ability to independently implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems to achieve treatment goals. This requires independent judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving or crisis intervention techniques.
6)Ability to independently provide counseling and/or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups and families. Social workers must practice within the bounds of their license or certification. For example, some states may require social workers providing psychotherapy to have a clinical level of licensure.
7)Ability to provide consultation services to other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. Ability to provide orientation and coaching to new social workers and social work graduate students. Ability to serve as a field instructor for social work graduate students who are completing VHA field placements.
8)Ability to independently evaluate his/her own practice through participation in professional peer review case conferences, research studies, or other organized means.
9)Knowledge and skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, and tracking, especially those programs in use by VHA.
Assignments. This is the full performance level for social workers. GS-11 social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. Assigned to all program areas, including inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area.

References: VA Handbook 5005, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/Directives-Handbooks/Documents/5005.pdf

PLEASE NOTE:  Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.)  Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.  Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.  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.

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. Applicants 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 applicant or others. Position requires walking throughout the clinic and the Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams. 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.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) and/or documentation related to your active duty service which shows dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation.

Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veterans Preference" with required proof as stated on the form.  For more information, please review the information for disabled Veterans in the application checklist or visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.

Your application, résumé and/or supporting documentation will be verified.  Please follow all instructions carefully.  Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: The full performance level of this vacancy is The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 00 to 00. The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will recommend the grade and salary at which the candidate will be placed. For internal selectees eligible for promotion, the board will determine grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

Working for the Department of Veterans Affairs offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, thrift savings plan, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. In addition to traditional "dollars and cents" benefits, we offer a range of benefits to help balance work and life.  For more information please visit us at http://www.va.gov/JOBS/Job_Benefits/benefits.asp.

Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service.  This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

HOW TO APPLY: All applicants are encouraged to apply online.

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Monday, May 12, 2014 to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.  

To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.  Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement.  You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):
·Resume Applicants may also submit the following supporting document type(s),which may not be required for all applicants:
·Cover Letter
·DD-214
·OF-306
·Other
·Other Veterans Document
·SF-15
·SF-50
·Transcript

VA Form 10-2850c - Application for Associated Health Occupations (Available at http://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-2850c-fill.pdf). Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

Faxing Applications or Supporting Documents:

You are encouraged to apply online.  Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

NOTE:  If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.

If you completed the occupational questionnaire online and are unable to upload supporting document(s):
To fax your documents, you must use the following cover page http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf and provide the required information.  The Vacancy ID is 1109212.Fax your documents to 1-478-757-3144.
If you cannot complete the Application Package online, you may fax all of your materials.  The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Monday, May 12, 2014Monday, May 12, 2014 to receive consideration.  Keep a copy of your fax confirmation in the event verification is needed.

To complete the occupational questionnaire and submit via fax:
Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire View Occupational Questionnaire.Print the 1203FX form, follow the instructions and provide your responses to the occupational questionnaire items http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/opm1203fx.pdf.  Fax the completed 1203FX form along with any supporting documents to 1-478-757-3144.  Your 1203FX will serve as a cover page for your fax transmission.
After we receive your complete application package (including any required documents), your qualifications will be reviewed to decide if you meet the basic requirements.  You will be notified when this decision is made.

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