Psychologist (CSP Centralized Eligibility & Appeals Team)

Summary

The Caregiver Support Program (CSP) is a clinical program that provides benefits, services, education and resources to caregivers of Veterans with complex needs. Members of the VISN 22 CSP's Centralized Eligibility and Appeals Team (CEAT) are experts in the eligibility criteria for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) and conduct comprehensive record reviews for determining eligibility and level of care per statue, regulation, policy, and guidelines.

Duties

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**This is not a remote position and the selected VHA employee must be located (or willing to relocate) within 50 miles of a VA Facility within the VISN 22 catchment area and have space available for assignmentLoma Linda, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Prescott, San Diego, or Tucson.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Supporting the mission, policies, and procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the appropriate Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and its associated facilities.
• Conducting comprehensive record reviews for the purposes of determining PCAFC eligibility, level of care, and appropriateness for participation per statue, regulation, policy, and guidelines. This is done from a psychologist's perspective.
• Sustaining expert knowledge of eligibility criteria for the PCAFC and the regulations, statutes, directives and policies that govern or impact the program and decision making.
• Bringing a knowledge of, and ability to interpret the widest array of applicable assessments, tests, and medical records to assist CEAT with case disposition.
• Disability claim review and decision-making, resulting in forensic-style clinical letter writing in compliance with all applicable federal laws, VA regulations, and professional practice standards. This requires substantial independent clinical judgment, in-depth knowledge of complex case presentations, and the ability to expeditiously synthesize medical, psychosocial, and functional information for benefits determinations.
• Participation in inter-professional decision-making teams regarding clinical eligibility and appropriate level of caregiving required.
• Sensitivity to the issues and needs of Veterans and their families, when rendering clinical eligibility determinations.
• Conducting Peer Reviews from a psychology standpoint, which may occur at the regional level, to aide in achieving consistency nationally.
• Using professional standards of care, scientific evidence, and practice to evaluate program and/or service activities and implementing broad-reaching evidence-based change.
• Coordinating with VISN CEAT, other Regional CEATs and VACO CSP to develop and implement strategies for PCAFC determinations, appeals process, and performance improvement.
• Demonstrating knowledge and skill in the use of software applications for drafting documents and data management as well as other computer systems in use by the VHA to track workload and outcomes.
• Maintaining a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with Psychology, Joint Commission, Program Office and VISN standards.
• Maintaining advanced knowledge and understanding of both the services and benefits available for caregivers from both federal, state and private sector resources.
• Evaluating program progress and outcomes and utilizes data to continuously modify and improve the program and processes.
• Completing all requested reports, data, and maintain reporting requirements with outcomes related to the CSP.
• Ability to coordinate patient care through patient management techniques across the patient care continuum.
• Effectiveness in recognizing emergency/acute situations and intervening in an appropriate and effective manner.
• Keeping supervisor apprised of problems and recommended solutions to problems encountered in the incumbent's area of responsibility.
• Furthering one's own professional growth through continuing education and for ensuring continuing education appropriate to the area of assignment.
• Actively participating in the CSP conference calls and participating in other relevant conference calls and/or meetings as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm PST

Compressed/Flexible:Available

Telework: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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 (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).
• 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

*This is not a remote position and the selected VHA employee must be located (or willing to relocate) within 50 miles of a VA Facility within VISN 22 catchment area and have space available for assignmentLoma Linda, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Prescott, San Diego, or Tucson.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.)
• Education and Internship.
  
  • Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology). OR
  • Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re- specialization program including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re- specialization program meeting both of the following conditions:
    
    • The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program;
    • the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
    • NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] OR
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND
  • Internship
    
    • Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR
    • New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern; OR
    • VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96- 151 (pre- 1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement; OR
    • Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) [OR
    • Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally- accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program.
    • NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.]
• Licensure.Hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
  
  • Exception. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.
  • Loss of Credential. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists.
• Board Certification.
  
  • Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.
  • Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists.
  • Grandfathering Provision. [All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have m