Duties

Major duties of this Crisis Responder position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Implements suicide/mental health crisis prevention strategies;
• Conducts interviews and utilizes assessments tools to assess emotional, functional, and/or psychological conditions;
• Assists Veterans and their family/friend/significant other with issues regarding the Veterans' mental health issues, referrals, benefits, support groups;
• Provides psycho-education and directs advice regarding suicide/mental illness crisis;
• Provides support for the identification of veterans at high risk, and coordinates enhanced care;
• Completes structured diagnostic and clinical assessments;
• Keeping a caller, texter, or chatter engaged while multi-tasking to document work, look up resources, and instant message for assistance when needed;
• Prepares and maintains records and reports in accordance with program guidelines;
• Works collaboratively with other members of the VA Crisis Hotline Program to identify appropriate services for Veterans in crisis;
• Makes outgoing calls to Veterans if a Veteran has sent an email or letter to the White House, or some other government agency.

If selected for the position, The Veterans Crisis Line has a comprehensive training that you will attend during your first weeks. As a new employee you will be expected to successfully complete all parts of the training, to include completing a final competency assessment with a score of 80% or higher. Failure to attain a passing score on the cumulative competency assessment may result in a determination that you are not qualified to progress in your employment with the Veterans Crisis Line.

Work Schedule: Varied work schedule to include evenings, nights, weekends and holidays to provide 24/7 call center coverage. Tour will be determined after final selections and will be based on seniority. Tour is subject to change based on program needs. Selectees will be expected to work all shifts.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position. This is a remote position. Selectees will work 100% of the time in a non-VA-owned space outside of the local commuting area of a parent station. The employee's workspace must be suitable for conducting business and as such, remote employees are expected to provide a secure, distraction-free home-based worksite with reliable high speed internet connectivity. The employee will be required to travel to the closest VA Medical Center or VA Outpatient Clinic for issuance of equipment, and as needed for technical support. Selectees will be required to self-certify that their remote workplace meets all safety, privacy, and internet speed requirements.
Functional Statement #: 07742A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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 probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

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.
English Language Proficiency: Social Science Specialists (Crisis Responders) must be proficient in spoken and written English. See 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education and Experience: Applicants must meet at least one of the basic requirements below:
• Successful completion of a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university. The degree must be in a behavioral health or social science related field appropriate to the work of the position (e.g., psychology, social work, sociology, family counseling, mental health counseling, nursing, ministry and criminal justice); OR,
• Two years of specialized experience as a first responder (e.g., Police, Medic, Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Dispatch, etc.) or in a social science related field that included behavioral health crisis response, and two years of higher education (i.e., above the high school level) from an accredited college or university in a behavioral health or social science related field appropriate to the work of the position (e.g., psychology, social work, sociology, family counseling, mental health counseling, nursing, ministry and criminal justice); OR,
• Successful completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in any field and, one year of specialized experience that included behavioral health crisis response or mental health counseling.

Grade Determinations for Social Science Specialist (Crisis Responder), GS-11, Specialized Experience or Education: Individual must meet at least one of the requirements below.

Specialized Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level, which is directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as: Performing crisis intervention work in a clinical behavioral health setting; conducting risk assessments with contacts experiencing an emotional crisis and as a result, may harm themselves or others; coordinating with team members to initiate emergency services or create facility transportation plans, as clinically appropriate; and engaging multiple entities, including law enforcement, medical and mental health providers, and third parties; OR Education. Ph.D. or equivalent degree from an accredited college or university in a behavioral health related field appropriate to the work of the position (e.g., psychology, social work, sociology, or family counseling).

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the specialized experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Ability to provide an evidenced based crisis intervention through a variety of modalities (e.g., telephone interviews, chat/text services, or social media forums).
• Ability to carry out crisis management steps while withholding judgment on controversial behaviors and not imposing one's values during the contact.
• Ability to effectively prioritize complex problems quickly and respond appropriately in a crisis situation.

References: VA Handbook 5005,Part II, Appendix G64, Social Science Specialist (Crisis Responder) Qualification Standards.
Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary, but requires extreme patience and controlling ones emotions.

Education

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

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

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.

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.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a VA job announcement includes language requiring applicants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply to this Job Announcement. VA may request information regarding your vaccination status, if selected, for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .