Social Worker-Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program

About the role

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your 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 complete review of the EDRP application.

Responsibilities

• A. Conducting behavioral health and mental health biopsychosocial assessments.
• B. Making sound professional judgments regarding clinical impressions, treatment approaches, and treatment planning.
• C. Coordinating with internal and external professionals to ensure appropriate transitions of care and appropriate/necessary treatment is provided/offered to Veterans.
• D. Establishing and maintaining knowledge of VA and Veteran’s benefits and services, community resources, and process for making appropriate referrals to community and other governmental programs or agencies.
• E. Providing advocacy to overcome potential barriers to access care/services and when it is in the best interests of the Veteran.
• F. Providing goals of care discussions, as well as education and assist in the completion of Advance Directives; Organ, Tissue, and Eye Donation release of information forms; and Guardianship documentation.
• G. Assessing for signs and symptoms of abuse, neglect and exploitation.
• H. Completing on-call duties, as assigned and per policy, which may include transportation of a Veteran.

Administrative Functions

• A. Possesses and demonstrates ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing with people from varied backgrounds.
• B. Possesses skills in using computer systems and the internet for Veterans who choose this modality to communicate.
• C. Serves on supervisor approved committees, work groups, and task forces at the local facility, VISN or national level.
• D. Attends and participates in all required administrative and clinical meetings.
• E. Maintains accurate, timely, and complete clinical records in accordance with professional practice and VA administration guidelines.
• F. Maintains data and statistical compilations to comply with accreditation bodies such as CARF and Joint Commission, and VA health care systems policies and procedures.
• G. Participates in Social Work Professional Practice Evaluation processes.
• H. Performs other duties as assigned and can, at times, assist other incumbents or perform special assignments to meet the needs of the healthcare system.

Role-Specific Tasks

• A. Coordinate and facilitate the Veteran's overall treatment, view the Veteran comprehensively and provide continuity among various services by linking VA and community resources into a continuum of care, incorporate both inpatient and outpatient care, unless treatment requires relocation to another facility, enhance the continuity of care in a recovery-focused, integrative, rational, proactive, and individualized manner, collaborative assessment of the Veteran's needs, strengths, and challenges, plan specific services to meet the Veteran's identified needs.
• B. Incorporating a Recovery Model of Care to provide the framework for a collaborative relationship between the social worker and the Veteran.
• C. The social worker will interview patients and develop a psychosocial assessment of the Veteran. The social worker may gather and evaluate information from sources other than the patient, with the patient's consent, to validate patient reports and provide a more comprehensive assessment.
• D. It is the responsibility of the social worker, working within the interdisciplinary treatment team to develop a treatment plan based on assessment data and the input from the Veteran. The treatment plan will include measurable goals, objectives and treatment methods based upon the patient assessment. The treatment plan will be used to direct a course of treatment.
• E. The social worker will make rapid assessments and develop crisis management plans in MH RRTP. This includes the development and facilitation of written suicide risk assessments, collaborative safety plans, and assessment of homicidal ideation.

Qualifications

• Education Requirement: Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
• Licensure Requirement: 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.