Senior Social Worker (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)

Summary The Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator is a Senior Social Worker who will serve to facilitate implementation of suicide prevention strategies at a local level through education, monitoring, and coordination activities. Responsibilities Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf The primary responsibilities of the Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator include monitoring list of Veterans determined to be at high risk for self-harm, providing education to all front line and clinical staff regarding risk factors and protective factors for suicide, educating clinical staff regarding safety planning with their patients, networking with community partners, providing programmatic guidance for the team of suicide prevention specialists, providing timely and accurate responses to all action items regarding Suicide Prevention program. As a Senior Social Worker, the Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator works in collaboration with the Deputy Associate Chief of Staff, Mental Health, and other discipline specific supervisors to coordinate administrative, patient, and personnel activities for this program. Some of the duties include, but are not limited to; Works with community resources such as VSO's and other community groups to assure that they are aware of how to recognize Veterans at risk for suicide and their options for getting these Veterans assistance. Develops and implements an ongoing education plan for providers, veterans, families, and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide, and treatment options. Develops and implements information systems to track services including visits, referrals, inpatient days, patient demographics, and patient satisfaction. Provides programmatic guidance including technical and clinical assistance to other staff in the Suicide Prevention Program. Responsible for data collection, administrative record keeping, monitoring of patient or program clinical indicators, and performance measurements. Interprets and implements the philosophy and goals of the Mental Health and Social Work Service and the program to which they are assigned to in the work setting; functions within established guidelines and demonstrates the ability to work effectively and develop sound relationships with their patients, other caregivers, professional staff and supportive personnel who provide patient care. Responds to consults from the National Veterans Crisis Hotline and coordinates the follow up care for these Veterans and families. Provides referrals to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social services or other non-VA entitlement programs. Has the ability to serve Veterans who tend to have frequent and severe crises, or an inadequate community support network, those that frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or have significant deficits in coping and require continuing professional psychosocial support. Works collaboratively with each of the Mental Health Teams to ensure appropriate care coordination for Veterans at risk for suicide. Consults with other specialists in planning treatment for Veterans and with co-morbidities. Develops working relationships with other organizations having responsibility for the same patient population. Maintains a current and productive network of referral resources. Conducts outreach to Community-based agencies and provides SAVE Training facility wide to all staff. Serves as a mentor to other Social Workers, particularly those at the entry level and to Social Work graduate students. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am to 4:30pm. However, the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis, based on the needs of the service and patient care Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Telework: May be available - as determined by agency/facility policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: FS Senior Social Worker (Suicide Prevention Coordinator) 5421 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. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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: Must 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: 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. (NOTE: For those who have a Florida LCSW license, you must be registered with the state as a "Qualified Supervisor" in order to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certification. All others must meet the requirements of their state of licensure to be able to provide supervision for licensure.) English Language: Must be proficient in spoken and written English 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). 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 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. 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. Preferred Experience: Those candidates with experience working with crisis intervention and safety planning are highly preferred. Reference: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort, such as that involved in lifting light files, bending, standing, reaching, operating office equipment such as telephone, copier, fax machine, scanner, etc. The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty. Ability to drive/operate government vehicle. Education Must 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. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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. This is a bargaining unit position. This occupation is listed on the OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration's Occupational Staffing Shortages fiscal year (FY) 2025 dated October 1, 2024. Therefore, is vacancy announcement is exempt from Veterans Preference. 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.