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Summary The Senior Social Worker is primarily responsible for providing psychosocial and mental health assessment, diagnosis, treatment, care management, case management, crisis intervention, behavioral health and evidence-based psychotherapy services to Veterans, their families/caregivers in the outpatient and specialty case clinic setting across the North Florida / South Georgia Veterans Health System (NF/SGVHS) working within the Social Work Service located in Gainesville, FL. Responsibilities Senior Social Worker - Baker Act Coordinator Provider Major Duties: The incumbent will maintain up-to-date knowledge of State of Florida Baker Act laws governing mental health treatment and ensures compliance within the NF/SGVHS with all federal applicable laws. Coordinates and processes all legal aspects of patients undergoing voluntary and/or involuntary treatment in accordance with the Florida State Baker Act laws and Federal laws/directives/United States Codes and provides Baker Act clinical support to the NF/SG VA HCS/Inpatient Mental Health unit. Serves as a liaison to the Alachua County Circuit Court and the Florida State Hospital system and will submit appropriate legal documents to those systems. Responsible for all aspects of inpatient mental health hearings, including transmitting paperwork to the Alachua County Circuit Court, coordinating virtual or in-person hearings with Veterans, educating guardian advocates about their responsibilities and the court hearings, debriefing witnesses who will testify in court hearings, and supporting psychiatrists testifying in the hearings. Reviews all the Baker Act legal forms that are completed in the CBOCs, OPCs, the ED, medical floors and any hospital to hospital transfers to make sure NF/SG VA follows the State of Florida Baker Act law. Acts as a liaison between the NF/SG VA HCS and the Baker Act Reporting Center at the University of South Florida and submits all pertinent Baker Act documents to the Reporting Center. Maintains all records of all Baker Act processes and legal matters pertaining to the Baker Act and the NF/SG VA HCS and compile monthly statistics and feedback to providers related to Baker Act use in the system. Leads staff development training of Baker Act law and the voluntary and involuntary processes. Participates in outstanding customer service and accepts responsibility in maintaining relationships that are equally respectful to all. Requires an advanced level of knowledge and understanding of the bio psychosocial and mental health needs of Veterans, and their families/caregivers. Understands and applies related procedures and policies, federal, state and community resources, and VA benefits in the care and treatment of Veterans and their families/caregivers in assigned areas. Performs case finding functions in identifying and screening patients for psychosocial and mental health needs and utilizes advanced clinical training insight and experience to interpret medical, mental health and psychosocial needs and identify viable treatment options, which may require independent decisions to modify or cancel elements of discharge plans developed by professional colleagues. Conducts psychosocial and mental health assessments and develops patient-centered treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran and their family/caregiver and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Possesses the skills to offer psychosocial, psychoeducational and evidence-based psychotherapy interventions in individual and group settings and measures outcomes to interventions to improve treatment services. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: not available. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not approved. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. 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 - Baker Act Coordinator, FS #55648F. 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). Qualifications Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/26/2025. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series at the 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/. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in employment termination. Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker GS-12 Experience and Education: The candidate must have at least two (2) years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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. Advanced Practice Licensure must be submitted with your application. 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). While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, (KSA's), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training. Otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following GS-12 Senior Social Worker KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Preferred Experience: Experience with placing patients on involuntary commitments and/or Baker Act in Florida, knowledge of court proceedings related to mental health commitment laws, at least two years of experience in mental health direct patient care and licensed to practice independent clinical social work in the state of Florida. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/19. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Able to meet the physical demands of the position and reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Must have good manual dexterity and able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. The job entails walking, standing, bending, traveling among several different stories/floors, sitting, working on a computer, and carrying objects. 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.