Social Worker (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)

Veterans Health Administration • White River Junction, VT

9h

About The Position

This full-time position is within the Mental Health Service for the White River Junction VA Healthcare System. The Social Worker serves as the Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC), facilitating suicide prevention strategies at the medical center through individual, system-level, and community-level interventions. The role affects agency operations, patient health and well-being, and relationships with community organizations and stakeholders.

The SPC plans, develops, implements, and evaluates the Suicide Prevention Program to support quality improvement and compliance with national mandates. The GS-12 full performance role requires advanced-practice state licensure or certification and at least two years of specialized social work experience following advanced-practice licensure, including one year equivalent to the GS-11 level. The coordinator must have specialized knowledge and at least two years of experience in clinical assessment, crisis intervention, and suicide risk assessment.

The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Ad-hoc telework may be authorized, but this is not a virtual position. The position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program, subject to individual eligibility and program approval. The approved award may be up to $200,000 for an eligibility period of one to five years; applications must be submitted within four months of appointment. Recruitment or relocation incentives and permanent change-of-station assistance are not authorized.

Requirements

• Master's degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education; a doctoral degree cannot substitute for the master's degree.
• State licensure or certification to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.
• Advanced-practice-level state licensure or certification and ability to provide supervision for licensure.
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, demonstrating advanced-practice skills, judgment, and progressively greater professional competency.
• At least two years of specialized experience following advanced-practice licensure, including one year equivalent to GS-11.
• At least two years of experience in clinical assessment, crisis intervention, and suicide risk assessment.
• Knowledge of program coordination and administration, including consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
• Knowledge and ability to write program policies, procedures, or practice guidelines.
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
• Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program areas.
• Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• U.S. citizenship.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical evaluation and meet applicable background/security requirements.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period.

Responsibilities

• Follow up on consults received from the National Veterans Crisis Line.
• Conduct clinical and risk assessments and implement appropriate interventions for referred Veterans.
• Provide clinical interventions, as appropriate, adjunctive to the MHTC, and document all clinical interventions in the medical record.
• Provide consultation to inpatient and outpatient providers hospital-wide regarding risk assessment, interventions, and requirements for enhanced services.
• Identify and intervene with high-risk Veterans who refuse care, including implementing the SPC mail program.
• Participate in Environment of Care Rounds and assist in determining actions to improve hospital environmental safety.
• Track and report suicide attempts and completions, and complete related issue briefs as required.
• Monitor VHA Suicide Prevention Program performance measures to ensure they are met or exceeded.
• Initiate and maintain high-risk-for-suicide patient record flags for Veterans who meet criteria.
• Facilitate committee meetings on high-risk-for-suicide patient record flags and review flagged Veterans every 90 days.
• Develop and implement suicide prevention training for clinical and non-clinical settings in the hospital and community.
• Develop, organize, and participate in community outreach about recognizing suicide risk among Veterans and accessing care for Veterans and their families.
• Build relationships with local and state suicide prevention organizations, crisis organizations, and Veteran Service Organizations.
• Develop activities and training for staff and Veterans during Suicide Prevention Month.
• Plan, develop, implement, and evaluate the Suicide Prevention Program.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), subject to eligibility and approval, with an award of up to $200,000 over one to five years
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, comprising 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays
• Possible credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service experience
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment
• Child care subsidy for eligible full-time employees, subject to eligibility, of up to 25% of eligible child care costs, capped at $416.66 per month
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting
• Federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior