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for Care Facilities

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, OH and Fort Thomas, KY serving 15 counties in Southwest OH, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana with 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH, and Georgetown, OH. The CVAMC also supports two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division. Basic Requirements: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to SW Licensure Summary by State. Differentiating Independent Practice from Advanced Practice Level. Experience must be evaluated to differentiate between independent practice and advanced practice levels. A social worker practicing at the independent level has a generalized knowledge of practice, (which is required for all social workers at the full performance level and above.), whereas the social worker practicing at the advanced level has specialized knowledge of practice typically related to a particular diagnosis or patient population. The advanced practice social worker can be further differentiated from the independent practice social worker by their ability to expand clinical knowledge in the profession, provide consultation and guidance to colleagues, role model effective social work practice skills, teach or provide orientation to less experienced social workers, develop innovations in practice interventions, and provide clinical supervision for social work licensure or certification. A social worker with advanced practice skills and personal qualifications that meet the standard for the senior social worker will have passed an advanced generalist or clinical Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) examination and be assigned to a position that requires use of the advanced practice skills in order to be considered for the senior social worker grade. Failure to Obtain License or Certification. In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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. GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Program coordinators at the GS12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program. The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. Preferred Experience: None Reference: VA Qualification Standards. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS12 (above full performance). Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services ["The Local Recovery Coordinator (LRC) is located in the Mental Health Care Line and serves to assist in implementation of policies and procedures from the National Recovery Coordinator (NRC). The LRC will also facilitate implementation of recovery-oriented services in Mental Health programs, which includes education of providers and veterans and their families on recovery and evaluation of implementation efforts. Duties and responsibilities included but not limited to: Training and consulting with facility leadership, staff, veterans/family, and community regarding recovery-oriented services and the transformation of VHA mental health services. Facilitates the integration of recovery-oriented services across all mental health programs in VA Medical Centers and Community Based Outpatient Clinics to help ensure that Veterans have access to services (e.g., peer support, family services, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers, skills training and therapeutic and supported employment programs). Assists with the implementation of policies and procedures related to mental health recovery and psychosocial rehabilitation. Collaborates through the LRC Community of Practice to share innovative and best practices across facilities, to assist with new or changing initiatives, directives, priorities, and metrics. Collaborates with the VA medical facility Inpatient Mental Health Program Manager, develops a local Standard Operating Procedure addressing the education, staff training and implementation of recovery-oriented care on the inpatient mental health unit. Supports periodic climate assessments and observations of staff interactions with Veterans in the milieu. Reviews policies, procedures, staff trainings, Veteran treatment materials, and other components of Inpatient Mental Health Services at least annually. Collaborates with the local mental health executive committee in the development and implementation of a multi-year local plan to bring about a recovery-oriented continuum of mental health care in which there are strong partnerships between VHA MH leaders, clinicians, veterans, and family members. Consults with MH Chief or program directors on filling peer specialist positions and serves as a consultant to peer support specialists. Assists with VA regional or local recovery-oriented trainings, meetings, conferences, community outreach events, including the annual Cincinnati VA Mental Health Summit. Serves as a MH Liaison to the facility Veteran Mental Health Council and supports inclusion of Veterans voice in leadership decisions related to mental health care. Provides an annual report on implementation progress to the VISN RC and the NRC; other reports will also be prepared as requested. Meets monthly via conference call and works collaboratively with other VISN LRCs to coordinate a network response to recovery implementation and implementation of CO policies and procedures related to recovery. Participates in assigned facility MH leadership meetings and policy planning groups. Exemplifies high-level awareness of and sensitivity to the intersectionality of mental illness and health disparities. May represent the Medical Center or Healthcare System at professional/program community group/events and committees. May be identified as the facility POC for SMITRECC \"SMI Re-Engagement Project\". Serves as Champion of Recovery as \"upstream suicide prevention\" in all levels of care. Completes other duties as assigned by Supervisor to support Veteran/Family Mental Health and Well-being LRC participates in direct clinical services within PRRC/Special Services and other Clinical Duties as Assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am to 4:30pm. Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 92553-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized"]

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