The Social Worker-Program Coordinator for Mental Health/Psychiatry service acts as the Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) manages the daily operation of the Suicide Prevention Program, provides care coordination and case management/monitoring, administers crisis intervention services, promotes crisis resources, provides suicide prevention education and training, and collects/records mandatory data at the Richard L. Roudebush VAMC. 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. 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 Master 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. (Indiana Requires LCSW license) Experience/Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidates 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. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate, in their resume, all of the following KSAs (a) Skill in coordinating and implementing one or more specialty program(s), across the facility (b) Skill in local policy and practice development, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program as prescribed by the program handbook or national directive (c) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s) (d) Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to further program goals and enhance patient centered care (e) Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties including assignment of work to be performed; performance evaluations; and selection of staff, training, and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary action (f) Ability to oversee the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (including fund controls, contracts, and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget (g) Knowledge of organizational structure and impact on program operations 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). Preferred Experience: Inpatient Discharge planning experience and Specialty Medicine experience preferred. Program Coordination experience preferred References: VA Handbook 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS 13. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the position involve standard office requirements such as using the telephone, retrieving files, writing reports, data entry and maintenance of computer databases, etc. Work is typically performed sitting at a desk and using a computer. This position may require occasional travel. The position requires periods of walking, standing, sitting, and bending. ["Duties of the Social Worker-Program Coordinator for Mental Health/Psychiatry service are to include, but not limited to: Administrative program duties - The SPC is responsible for managing the following for the Suicide Prevention Program: - This SPC's designation of REACH VET Coordinator manages the day-to-day operations and oversight within the facility for the REACH VET program, a sub-specialty component of the Suicide Prevention Program. The REACH VET program is a National initiative which analyzes data from Veterans' health records to identify those at a statistically elevated risk for suicide, hospitalization, illness or other adverse outcomes. This allows the VA to provide pre-emptive care and support for Veterans. The goal of this program is early intervention for better recovery outcomes, to lessen the likelihood of safety crises. Once the REACH VET program identifies a Veteran at risk, and local facility is notified, his or her VA Mental Health providers are involved to reach out to check on the Veteran's well-being, and to review the Veteran's condition and treatment plan to determine if additional care or support is indicated. The administrative responsibilities of REACH VET include clinical program development and is accountable for REACH VET/Suicide Prevention Case Management program effectiveness and modification of Mental Health Service patterns for responses to REACH VET cases. Function as the Suicide Prevention Program Education and Training Coordinator, providing the organization, strategy, planning, and logistics necessary to implement education related to REACH VET, as well as annual Suicide Prevention education to staff within the Indianapolis VAMC, CBOCs, and satellite offices (in-reach). See Health Promotion section below for more detail. This will include the analysis and aggregation of monthly Suicide Prevention Application Network (SPAN)attempts and completion data, review and analysis of Behavioral Health Autopsy Program (BHAP) data provided by VACO, while incorporating this data into Suicide Prevention education and training curriculum. This ensures that all training materials include Veteran-specific Suicide Prevention data and facts specific to the Veteran population, and incorporates current, relevant research and literature into Suicide Prevention education and training curriculum. Case Management: - The SPC maintains an assigned caseload from the facility's \"high risk\" list, and provides the following services throughout the duration of a veteran's Category I PRF, High Risk Suicide Flag: - Initiate contact with Veteran to discuss program involvement and expectations - Assist with the completion and utilization of a Suicide Prevention Safety Plan, and reinforce, review, and revise with the veteran, as needed - Track treatment progress via contact with veteran, MHTC, and treatment teams, and ensure HRF-7 compliance with all metric targets. - Assess suicide risk by identifying risk/protective factors and warning signs Provide appropriate social work intervention and referral as clinically indicated: - Ensure mental health treatment planning is updated to reflect suicide risk - Collaborate with the MHTC and clinical treatment teams - Schedule and monitor appointments as needed - Update a Veteran's contact information in the medical record and in the Suicide Prevention Application Network (SPAN), when SPAN is applicable Prevention: - The SPC participates in daily meetings with the other members of the Suicide Prevention Team to clinically review Veteran cases that have been referred to the Suicide Prevention Team via Suicide Behavior and Overdose Report (SBOR), the behavior section of the Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation (CSRE), Veteran Crisis Line (VCL), staff referral, Veteran self-referral or other communication methods. In addition to the day-to-day caseload duties outlined above, the SPC works on comprehensive efforts designed to prevent veteran engagement in self-directed violence. The SPC also provides clinical suicide risk assessment/ safety and treatment planning consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients at various levels of suicide risk. Based on experience and expertise, he/she will provide professional opinions on the assessment and management of such complex cases, while role modeling effective social work practice skills. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 07:30am-4:00pm or 08:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Incentives are not authorized for this vacancy. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
