Summary The selected Senior Social Worker of Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Team will serve as a senior clinician on the assigned BHIP team which helps manage consults, admissions, and care assignments working within the Mental Health Service Line. This will be located in either Lake City or Gainesville campus. The position will function as the program subject matter expert and as a lead social worker for their assigned team. Responsibilities Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The main role of this BHIP Treatment Coordinator is to function as the Mental Health Treatment Coordinator (MHTC) managing the flow of new and established patients as well as Veterans requesting community care; to include assisting with Veterans calling multiple outpatient clinics for same day access. The BHIP Treatment Coordinator will independently manage complex Veterans within their program area. This will be determined based on the Veteran's acuity, severity of condition, diagnosis or other programmatic guidelines as defined within the section to which they report. The BHIP Treatment Coordinator will also play a vital role in the dispositioning of requests for Community Care as this position requires the incumbent to exert a high level of flexibility, organization, attention to detail, and independence. Some of the duties include, but are not limited to; Responsible for continuous quality improvement activities within assigned areas and participates as a member of a the multidisciplinary treatment team. Provides comprehensive assessments; individual, and group treatment (psycho-educational and psychotherapeutic) of a broad spectrum of mental health disorders. Performs at least one or more of the following: process improvement tasks, supervision of social workers for advanced practice licensure or the graduate trainee program, act as a mentor for less experienced social workers, participate or chair committees or groups that impact social work practice and/or lead roll out of evidence-based practices. Responsible for working in conjunction with their assigned BHIP Treatment Teams to evaluate new and established Veteran consults for group, individual, and medication management requests as well as requests for treatment in the community. Acts as a liaison to referring clinicians and coordinating care for Veterans within and outside of their respective BHIP team. Involves working with new and established Veterans with mental health disorders and organizing patient flow within in the VA and the community across the clinic(s) in the most effective way possible. Assists in coordinating care including serving as an advocate on behalf of the Veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery, and linking and referring Veterans to the VA Medical Center, VA Regional Offices and/or community agencies. Participates in program planning and development and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedures or policy changes based upon work experiences and takes responsibility for improving professional skills, participating in planning and executing specific staff development projects, attending seminars and institutes, and participating in training programs of other disciplines as requested. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am to 4:30pm. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized. 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. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker BHIP GS-12 52165F 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 trial period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. 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). You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position. 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.) Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification. For additional information, please visit Membership - CPTSPR. 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 in the below, are highly preferred. Case management. Evidence based/informed care. Measurement based care. Working in/with multidisciplinary teams. 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: Able to meet the physical demands of the position, to include sitting, standing, frequent walking, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Must have good manual dexterity and be able to view computer monitor for extensive reading, overall completion of work, preparing reports, analyzing data, entering documentation in electronic health record and more. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. This position is will require going to the closest or most appropriate VA medical center/clinic and within the community to carry out primary responsibilities and/or complete administrative tasks required for the position. 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. IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application. 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 This occupation is listed on the OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration's Occupational Staffing Shortages fiscal year (FY) 2025 dated October 01, 2024. Therefore, vacancy announcement is exempt from Veterans Preference. 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. 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. Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: Current permanent VA employees of the facility. All other VA employees. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. All other applicants.
