• Job Description

  Req#: 756443200
  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. 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.
  
  
  
  Duties
  
  
  This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until filled or September 30, 2024. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be November 6, 2023. Eligible applications received after that date will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available.
  
  VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
  
  The incumbent will be the clinical case manager for a caseload of Veterans admitted into the HUD-VASH program, working with a multi-disciplinary team to assist the Veteran to secure and maintain permanent housing. The incumbent will determine the stage of case management for each Veteran and confirm that the multi-disciplinary team is meeting face to face with the Veteran at the frequency required by the given state; the incumbent understands that these face-to-face meetings should take place in Veteran's residence unless otherwise indicated. The incumbent will ensure that the team's interventions adhere to the treatment plan created with the Veteran. In addition, the incumbent will complete the other documentation requirements of the HUD-VASH program, including psychosocial assessments, HOMES database updates, measurement-based care tracking, pain, nutrition, and suicide screenings. The incumbent, once and if certified by the county where they are assigned cases, may submit paperwork to place psychiatric holds on Veterans when indicated. The incumbent, as a GS12 Social Worker, must be able to provide supervision; this is not necessarily part of the assigned duties but could be as needed by agency need and/or incumbent interest.
  
  Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
  Telework: This position requires reporting to the duty station multiple times each week. Given incumbent performance and agency need, this position may be permitted telework on days when reporting to duty station is not required.
  Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
  Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
  EDRP Authorized: Contact susan.bringel@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
  Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
  Fi nancial Disclosure Report: Not required
  
  
  Requirements
  
  
  
  
  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.
  • 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 http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
  • 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.
  • Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
  • nglish 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
  
  Senior Social Worker, GS-12
  
  Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty.
  
  Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
  • Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
  • Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
  • Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
  • Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.
  Assignments. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management.
  
  References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II, Appendix G39 dated September 10, 2019.
  
  The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.
  
  Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking, sitting, talking, driving, use of the telephone, etc. Light lifting, under 15 pounds, Light carrying, under 15 pounds, Hearing (aid permitted). A valid driver's license is required, as the incumbent will be working primarily in the community.

• About the company

  The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with integrating life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 1700 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country.

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