Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator) - Tribal HUD VASH Coordinator

About the role

The Fargo VA Health Care System is recruiting for 1 full-time Coordinator for the Tribal HUD VASH program. This vacancy will be filled with either a Social Worker (Program Coordinator), Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator), or a Registered Nurse Program Manager. Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors should apply under this announcement.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments; analyze subjective and objective data to formulate accurate clinical diagnoses.

• Identify "at-risk" factors and mitigate risk related to suicide, incarceration, readjustment, stigma, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, TBI, PTSD, and other mental health concerns.

• LPMHC is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans to maintain patient in the home, for admission to acute, short term and/or long-term placements.

• Deliver HUD-VASH case management that maintains Veterans in HUD-approved stable housing, including home/community visits in Turtle Mountain/Belcourt.

• Serve as an advocate for enrolled tribal Veterans and family members; link and refer to Fargo VAHCS, VA Regional Offices, and tribal/community agencies.

• Carefully coordinate across multiple systems (e.g., legal, medical, occupational, social, educational), engaging the school system, non-VA employment resources for spouses, law enforcement/domestic violence units, and child protective services when clinically indicated.

• Review and coordinate agreements between Tribes, Section 8, landlords, Tribal Housing Authorities, and the VA to establish appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements.

• Develop targeted programs to reduce risk factors associated with homelessness and mental health conditions; collaborate directly with the Fargo VAHCS Suicide Prevention Coordinator.

• Serve as the facility subject matter expert on family-based interventions and advocacy for homeless tribal Veterans; mentor and train program/service/hospital staff and CBOC personnel.

• Provide clinical training to students, interns, and case managers assigned to HUD-VASH, as needed.

• Coordinate and maintain strong lines of communication between the parent hospital/HCHV at Fargo VAHCS and tribal community resources to ensure continuity of care.

• Document all patient/family contacts and clinical activity in accordance with medical center policy and TJC requirements; ensure timely progress notes that reflect goals and outcomes.

• Maintain required data/statistical compilations to comply with Joint Commission, CARF, VA, and medical center policies.

Requirements

Open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Qualifications

• 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. Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

  • Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0183 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment.

  • English Language Proficiency. LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j.

• Quality of Experience:

  • (1) Knowledge of Current LPMHC Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current mental health counseling practice. Experience satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice at the post- master's degree level, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional mental health counselor.

  • (2) Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is post- master's degree experience as a mental health counselor directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to LPMHC experience at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

  • (3) Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as a LPMHC is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a LPMHC employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

  • (4) Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., mental health counseling. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.

  • (5) Practicum in a VA Setting. VHA practicum experience may not be substituted for experience, as the practicum (field placement) is completed prior to graduation with a master's degree in mental health counseling or related field.

• Grade Determinations:

  • GS-12 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator)