Social Advocacy Clinical Counselor

Summary
The primary purpose of this position is to provide direct service in the form of counseling individuals, couples, families, and groups on matters pertaining to family dynamics, parent-child interaction; couples communication, stress reduction, adjustment to military lifestyles, Family Advocacy Program (FAP) case management, treatment services and psychoeducational training programs.
This job is open to

• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency
Please see the "Who May Apply" section under the Qualifications section.
Duties
A. Clinical Counseling: 37%

• Provides short term, solution focused psychological counseling for individuals, couples, families, and groups of people in crisis. Assesses individual/family needs; explores basic personality structure in relation to behavior patterns, mechanisms, and symptoms. Receives and assesses referrals made by military and civilian agencies. Coordinates legal, medical and social services including commands, to assist in treatment and referral.
• Initiates, develops, and facilitates group treatment programs to address the needs of families, such as marital groups and child and adolescent groups.
• Demonstrates effective independent clinical assessment skills by identifying crisis situations, e.g. suicide or homicide risk, danger of physical or sexual abuse to family members, and increased risk of further family violence. Provides crisis intervention and safety planning as required.
• Independently manages assigned cases, consulting with the QA Specialist or Supervisory where the case is highly complex or presents with special/unique issues. Complies with reporting protocols involving high risk and high visibility cases.
• Maintains case records, treatment plans, and statistics in accordance with Navy policies and regulations and updates Management Information System data collection programs as required.
• Responsible for compliance with FFSC quality standards and Counseling Desk Guides.

B. Case Management: 37%

• Performs Family Advocacy Case Management duties, which includes receiving initial reports of suspected child and spouse abuse from military and civilian representatives and taking all steps required under the FAP program.
• Provides safety planning, case management, treatment, and education services related to child abuse and spouse abuse.
• Serves as designated case manager and primary FAP point of contact (POC) for spouse and child abuse cases ensuring all actions are in compliance with DoD and Navy instructions and civilian reporting requirements.
• Provides timely completion of all required assessments and documentation, e.g. Family Advocacy Risk Assessment. Uses information to present initial and follow-up case reviews at the multi-disciplinary (to include medical, legal law enforcement, related community agencies such as child protective services, etc) Case Review Committee (CRC).
• Presents complete and concise case presentations t the CRC documenting results and implementing recommendations according to guidelines.
• Demonstrates effective independent clinical assessment skills by identifying crisis situations, e.g. suicide or homicide risk, danger of physical or sexual abuse to family members, and increased risk of further family violence. Provides crisis intervention and safety planning as required.
• Provides ongoing case management services to assess service and family member needs, confirms follow-through with treatment recommendations, and provides additional resource referrals as warranted by the case status.
• Independently manages assigned cases, consulting with the QA Specialist or Supervisor where the case is highly complex or presents with special issues. Compiles with reporting protocols involving high risk offenders of family violence.
• Develops and provides group and individual treatment targeting at-risk and substantiated victims and offenders of family violence.

C. Community Liaison - 26%

• Serves as liaison and maintains a working relationship with necessary and appropriate city, county, state, federal, and non-government agencies as well as military commands to further a comprehensive education/prevention programs with regards to clinical counseling/FAP service affecting military personnel.
• Participates in community liaison meetings to establish or strengthen relationships with other agencies serving the target population. Provides summaries of liaison meetings for supervisor review and makes recommendations to supervisor for further collaborations that will reduce duplication of service and expand the range of programs for the population served.
• Educates and provides case specific consultation to military and civilian agencies about counseling services, FAP, risk assessment, clinical issues, treatment, and CRC processes.
• Maintains complete and timely records and workloads statistics using forms and automated systems as directed.
• Participates in the Regional Child Sexual Abuse Response Team, as directed.
• Identifies and/or develops marketing and other information materials that support the mission of CAP within the FFSC's (specialized brochures, articles for the base newspaper, etc.)
• Assists the CASS in developing case management protocols and program delivery criteria and identifying gaps in existing services.
• Participates in the CAP Quality Assurance Program and peer review process as directed.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• Must meet Federal Employment suitability requirements and successful completion of background investigation. Background investigations are conducted using fingerprint identification and completion of background inquiry forms.
• Must successfully pass the E-verify employment verification check. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of employment.
• You must go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9.
• May be required to pass pre-employment examinations.
• Must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or U.S. National.
• A valid State driver's license is required to operate motor vehicles.
• Must have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.

Qualifications
In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities, as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. All non-government positions identified on your resume must include complete address and to and from dates. Government positions must include pay plan, series, grade, to and from dates and address of the agency/organization.
Two years of specialized experience directly related to the duties described above. Qualifying experience must have been equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression.
Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Knowledge of the military lifestyle that furnished the employee with an understanding of the specific demands of military lifestyles, such as frequent separations and high stress working environments that have an extensive impact on individuals and their families.
• Ability to present sensitive and at times controversial information to groups of people in a clear and concise manner.
• Ability to modify programs to meet the ever changing needs of the active duty military community.
• Ability to recognize, identify and assess mental disorders per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Vol. IV.
• Have an understanding of and the ability to apply various counseling approaches such as behavior modification, client-centered, rational-emotive, family systems, brief solution-focused, and reality therapies.
• Knowledge of dynamics and diagnostic skills necessary for family violence identification, risk assessment, and safety planning.
• Knowledge of family violence treatment principles for victims and offenders.
• Knowledge of group dynamics.
• Knowledge in the area of family systems particularly as it relates to patterns of abusive behavior and abuse response, substance abuse, human behavior, human sexuality, attention deficit disorder, and juvenile delinquency.
• Ability to recognize and define personal and social problems, to independently reach accurate conclusions, and to provide appropriate solutions.
• Ability to effectively interview and clinically respond to the needs of clients including assessing suicidal and homicidal and substance abuse.
• Ability to communicate orally to interview alleged offenders and victims; to maintain cooperative and professional relationships with law enforcement, Child Protective Services, medical treatment facilities, and senior personnel from commands of offenders and victims; function as a member of interdisciplinary case review committees and participate in case discussions regarding assessment; make presentations; and to exercise strong facilitation skills for individual and group counseling.
• Ability to communicate in writing to develop and prepare case management memos, correspondence, and reports; to document psycho-social assessments, treatment plans, and case review committee reports; to develop lesson plans for briefing and classroom presentation.
• Knowledge and ability to use a personal computer and a variety of software programs to develop multi-media presentations and to facilitate work assignments.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.
As part of the application process, you must complete and submit an occupational questionnaire and your RESUME MUST SUPPORT AND VALIDATE YOUR ANSWERS or you may be removed from consideration.
ONLY THE MOST HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WILL BE REFERRED. IF MANAGEMENT DOES NOT WISH TO SELECT A HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATE, THEY MAY REQUEST A REFERRAL LIST INCLUDING WELL OR QUALIFIED APPLICANTS.
Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating and/or appointment eligibility.
PLEASE READ THIS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ENSURE ALL REQUIREMENTS ARE ADDRESSED IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE.
RELOCATION AUTHORIZED

• NO Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) is authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest

KEY REQUIREMENTS/CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• You must be a US Citizen.
• Males must be registered or exempt from Selective Service. https://www.sss.gov/register/
• Selectee must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Selectee may be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
• Selectee is required to participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• Social Security Card is required.
• Satisfactorily complete an employment verification (E-VERIFY) check.
• A favorable background is a requirement of this position. Failure to obtain and maintain a favorable background may result in the withdrawal of the position offer or removal.

NOTE: Applicants have the ability to perform an E-Verify Self Check to confirm employment eligibility at http://www.uscis.gov/mye-verify/self-check. Although a Self-Check is not mandatory, it can be a useful tool for applicants to find out if there is a problem with their employment eligibility records and resolve any issues before taking a job.
Education
***All transcripts and professional certifications and license must be included in order to be considered***
Per SECNAVINST 1754.8, incumbent must be qualified as a Tier II provider, and shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Education including at least one of the following:
(1) Master's degree from a program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and
Related Education Programs or an equivalent degree.
(2) Master's degree from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and
Family Therapy Education or an equivalent degree.
(3) Master's degree in Social Work from a graduate school of Social Work accredited by the Council
on Social Work Education or an equivalent degree.
(4) Doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an American Psychological Association
(APA) accredited university or professional school and a 1-year APA accredited clinical internship.
(2) Licensure/certification by a state or U.S. territory that provides legal authority to provide clinical services as an independent practitioner in the fields of Licensed Professional Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Social Work, Clinical Psychology or Counseling Psychology.
(3) Must have engaged in two years full-time, postmasters supervised clinical experience.
Additional information
The Federal government offers a number of exceptional benefits to its employees. Benefits you get to enjoy while working for our TEAM include but are not limited to:

• Comprehensive benefits package (medical, dental, life insurance, spouse & dependent life insurance, long-term disability, retirement, and 401(k) savings plan, annual and sick leave, tuition reimbursement, etc.).
• Stability of Federal Civilian Service
• People with passion for doing work that matters
• Quality of Work Life Balance

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