Social Worker (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)

Summary

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.

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Duties

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The Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) facilitates implementation of suicide prevention strategies at the local level through education, monitoring, & coordination of treatment. They coordinate the care for veterans who are at an elevated risk of suicide. They function as an advisor to the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health, other facility leadership, staff concerning suicide prevention strategies at the individual patient level & for the facility, and the veteran community as a whole.

VA Careers - Social Work : Worker (Program Coordinator) is assigned to the Mental Health Service Line of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System and reports directly to the Section Chief, Suicide Prevention Programs.

The position is located at Balcones Height VA Clinic.

• Maintains a list of patients determined to be currently high-risk for suicide and monitors their care to assure needed services are being received.
• As appropriate, consults/collaborates with providers regarding their delivery of care to high-risk veterans. Provides education and facilitates best practice. Will provide direct patient care for same purpose. Provides training to clinical and non-clinical staff throughout STVHCS community regarding risk factors, warning signs, treatment options, and resources. Promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and strategies for suicide prevention.
• Responds timely to referrals from the Veteran Crisis Line to include making contact with veterans callers to engage them in treatment; reports back to the Crisis Line about the results of interventions. Collaborates with providers to support completion of SBORs, Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations, and consults for consideration of activation of high-risk flag as appropriate.
• Incumbent completes SBORs, Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations, and consults for consideration of activation of high-risk flag as appropriate.
• Ensures implementation of Category 1 Flags per Central office Directives.
• Acts as liaison and trainer to community organizations and veterans organizations.
• Assuring that all veterans on the facility tracking list are being followed closely by the appropriate provider on a regular basis as determined by the Tracking any no-show appointments by these patients and following up with the patient as soon as possible to reschedule the appointment.
• Maintaining awareness of suicide treatment options and making recommendations to the patient's provider when new options become available.
• Obtaining any relevant HIPM clearances to allow transmittal of facility data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk to other offices for research, analysis, and quality assurance purposes; and transmitting the data following cyber security requirements as applicable for this sensitive data.
• Provides suicide prevention training to Veterans, staff and community members.
• Compiles data, completes required Local, VISN and National reports, develops plans to facilitate meeting required performance measures (SAIL, Director's Performance etc.).
• Works across service-lines to facilitate compliance with VHA directives and initiatives related to Suicide Prevention. coordinator and provider.

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday; 0800AM-430PM T

elework : ADHOC only, as determined by Agency policy.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 54104-f

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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)

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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 ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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: 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 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-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 Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Physical Requirements . See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
• English Language Proficiency . Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

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).

Grade Determinations : Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 : In addition to the basic requirements above, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level.

• Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate 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.
• Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • (a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
  • (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.
  • (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
  • (d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
  • (e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Preferred Experience:

• EBP Certification
• Prior experience in similar role or with population served
• Clinical supervision certification
• Quality or utilization management experience
• Former VA Trainee

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting/carrying 15-45 pounds, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking 6 hours, standing 6 hours, repeating bending 2-4 hours, Operation of motor vehicle; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Far Vision: 20/30; specific visual requirement far vision 20/30, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotional and mental stability, sit for extended periods, performs independently, cognitive stability. This position does necessitate driving ability.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

NOTE: If your school was accredited by CSWE at the time of graduation, but is no longer listed on the CSWE website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

Accreditation Information: The master's degree must be 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. Verification of the degree can be made by going to to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.

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: 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:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for 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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.