Social Worker - Primary Care Mental Health Integration

Summary

The VA Central Iowa Health Care System is recruiting for 3 full-time Counselors for the Mental Health Integrated Care Community to provide service in the Primary Care Mental Health Integration Program. These vacancies will be filled with either a Social Worker, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist, or a Staff Psychologist. Social Workers should apply under this announcement. This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP).

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Social Worker will function as part of a multidisciplinary primary care team and deliver brief mental health consultation-based services to Veterans within that setting. The focus is on general service delivery for a wide range of concerns and resolving problems within the primary care service context. Behavioral health visits are brief (generally 20-30 minutes), limited in number (1-8 visits), and are provided in the primary care practice area, structured so that the Veteran views meetings with the behavioral health provider as a routine primary care service. They will function within a fast-paced primary care team with the primary goal of assisting PACT members with identification, treatment, and management of mental health and behavioral medicine conditions in the enrolled population. He/she works closely with the physician team lead, care managers, PCMHI prescribers, and all team members to provide therapeutic, counseling, and mental health support for complex cases. Duties include, but are not limited to: - Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems and suicide assessment. - Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care settings. Services may be delivered in a face-to-face and/or telehealth format. - Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. - Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues. - Provides brief and time limited individual, family and group counseling, as appropriate. - Provides consultation services to support Primary Care Provider (PCP) decision-making, building on PCP interventions and improving PCP-patient working relationships. - Provides interventions with a focus on allowing patients to remain within Primary Care for the full range of their health care needs to the extent that this is clinically appropriate. -Provides follow-up of patient progress and treatment adherence with assessments and communication with their primary care team. -Participates in interdisciplinary teams, as needed, to improve organizational performance. - Works closely with PCMHI supervisor, therapists and other PCMHI staff, including supporting other programs as needed. - Complies with all documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). Complies with the peer review and professional discipline procedures. Position(s) listed under this Open Continuous Announcement (OCA) MAY be eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. Applicants selected for an EDRP-eligible position will be notified in their conditional job offer. The selectee must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit an 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 review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. or 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Qualifications

Health Professional Trainee (HPT) 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. 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-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. 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). Grade Determinations: GS-9 Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors. (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) 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 techn