Alaska VA seeks psychologists to evaluate its police applicants and officers each year

The Alaska VA Healthcare System is looking for a psychologist to screen people who want to be VA police officers in Anchorage, and to check on the officers already on the job every year. Quotes are due Monday.

Under the VA's national rule for police psychological exams, applicants sit for an interview and at least two psychological tests. The psychologist also looks at their finances, legal history, substance use and work history.

Applicants are judged on 10 traits taken from California's police screening manual, which the VA calls the leading best practice in the field. They include integrity, impulse control, stress tolerance, judgment and avoiding substance abuse and other risk-taking behavior.

Once hired, officers get a psychological evaluation every 12 months. It centers on an interview. Psychologists may use quick screens for depression, PTSD and alcohol use, and more testing is supposed to happen only if concerns come up.

A diagnosis alone can't cost an officer the job. "A mental health diagnosis itself cannot be used as evidence of medical disqualification for a position," the rule says. What counts is whether symptoms keep someone from doing the work.

The contract reaches beyond police. It also covers evaluations of other VA employees in Anchorage when a supervisor raises concerns. Those evaluations can inform decisions on whether an employee stays on the job, changes duties or gets accommodations, according to the solicitation.

Alaska's standard for police officers sets its psychological requirement at hiring. A licensed psychologist or psychiatrist must certify a new officer is "free from any emotional disorder that may adversely affect the person's performance as a police officer."

The VA estimates about 15 applicant evaluations and 19 annual exams a year. The contract, set aside for small businesses, would start Nov. 1 and could run five years. The VA extended the deadline for quotes on Tuesday, to 8 am Alaska time Monday, according to the federal contracting notice.