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. Program 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. To qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements of this position by the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. Education. 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. Licensure. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grade Determination for the GS-12. Senior Social Worker Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as Senior Social Workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Education and Experience. 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, the candidate 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. The full performance level of this position is a GS-11. This position is being recruited at GS-12. Preferred Experience: Experience working with Veterans or individuals experiencing homelessness. Experience working in community based work. Experience working with Veterans or individuals with SMI or SUD history. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 September 10, 2019 Physical Requirements: Able to meet the physical demands for the position, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Must have a good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken or written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. ["The Social Worker makes independent professional decisions and recommendations with infrequent recourse to supervisory guidance. Specific duties are as follows: Plans, develops and maintains a network of relationships with community resources and other advocates for the homeless to effectively screen and identify veteran members of the homeless population. Depending upon need, the Outreach Social Worker makes VA or community based referrals, advocates for scarce resources, confirms referrals are completed and provides intensive follow-up and coordination with these agencies. Interviews potential clients, interprets VHA guidelines and eligibility requirements and completes a psychosocial history and assessment. Initiates eligibility determination, and forwards to VA eligibility staff members. Establishes an initial assessment at the time of the first visit. Develops an appropriate treatment plan. Using known available resources and the initial assessment makes initial and continuing decisions regarding the services available and referrals needed. Decisions are based upon the employee's professional judgment with regards to the individual's rehabilitative potential and possible consequences of less controlled rehabilitative efforts. Documents the patient assessment and all treatment plans in accordance with the requirements of Medical Center policy and requirements of various accrediting bodies. Provides clinical services to clients. Provides guidance, emotional support and other assistance. Involves clients in individual or group counseling. Makes provision for referral services to other agency organizations, community resources, or other Governmental resources to resolve problems. Highly developed professional skills are routinely used to motivate dysfunctional clients to resume more effective control of their own life. Employs casework methods and techniques to maintain a therapeutic relationship that will help the client work towards the best way of dealing with his/her problems. Establishes a continuing relationship with the client, evaluating progress towards goals, performing follow-up after referral and adjusts treatment plan when needed. Monitors client's progress, maintains comprehensive case documentation, including NEPEC documentation, and shows competent discretion in the decision to adjust treatment. Explains client's treatment and progress towards rehabilitation to third parties with jurisdiction, remaining unbiased in the presentation even though consequences are far-reaching and potentially permanent. Demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients including geriatric patients related to their physical limitations, psychological needs and age associated illnesses and conditions. Contributes to policy formulation and participates in establishing procedures within the assigned service area. Assists with CHALENG surveys (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) Responds to Homeless National Call Center referrals Organizes and participates fully in various community projects (e.g., Stand Down)Assists with inspections of Health Care for Homeless Veteran (HCHV) contracted facilities as needed. May be assigned supervisory responsibility for one or more student trainees. Such responsibility requires ability to provide leadership, conceptualize knowledge, and use extensive knowledge of social work practice and the agency. The Social Worker is responsible for weekday and weekend emergency room on-call duty, to include face-to-face visits at the JCMVAMC if clinically indicated. Social Worker will respond to emergency room's request for mental health assessment and treatment recommendations, including hospitalization. Social worker is also responsible for provision of coverage during extended hours as scheduled. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday from 8:00am until 4:30pm Telework: Available Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
