Career Center

Summary

This position is eligible for 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 your start date. 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. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• 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: 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/
• Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified - pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations
• This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level
• For the GS-11 grade level and above - the candidate must be licensed or certified
• At the time of appointment - the supervisor - chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification - including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline
• Failure to Obtain License or Certification: In all cases - social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment
• Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment
• Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified - social workers must maintain a full - valid - and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment
• Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment
• Grade Determinations: Social Worker GS-9: Experience - Education - and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements
• *In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic - cultural - ethnic - educational - and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills
• Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members - and to formulate and implement a treatment plan - identifying the Veterans problems - strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and assistance needed
• Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups to achieve treatment goals
• This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive - problem solving - or crisis intervention techniques
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients - staff - and representatives of community agencies
• Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities - and treatment procedures
• This includes acute - chronic - and traumatic illnesses/injuries
• common medications and their effects/side effects
• and medical terminology
• Social Worker GS-11: Experience and Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings - (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level
• OR Education: In addition to meeting basic requirements - a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting
• *In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services
• Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - cultural - ethnic - educational and other diversified backgrounds
• Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e
• acute - chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries - common medications and their effects/side effects - and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan
• Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical - and social problems to achieve treatment goals
• Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers - social work graduate students - and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11
• Physical Requirements: This job requires moderate lifting (15-44 pounds) - Moderate carrying (15-44 pounds) - use of fingers - operation of motor vehicle
• Environmental requirements include outside and inside - slippery or uneven walking surfaces - working around moving objects or vehicles - working closely with others and working alone.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties will vary by grade - but at the GS-11 level: HUD-VASH is a collaborative program which pairs HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance with VA case management and supportive services for homeless Veterans
• These services are designed to help homeless Veterans and their families find and sustain permanent housing and access the health care - mental health treatment - substance use counseling and other supports necessary to help them in their recovery process and within their ability to maintain housing in the community
• Social Workers assigned to the HUD-VASH program provide psychosocial services primarily to Veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness
• Social Workers are generally assigned a caseload of Veterans and provide clinical case management to support goals set by the Veteran to obtain and maintain housing stability
• Complexity of care needs - housing status - services rendered and other factors may influence caseload size
• HUD-VASH social workers are expected to provide care in the community - typically the Veteran's residence - as a means to reduce barriers for care engagement and to aid in the early identification of need for programmatic intervention
• Providing outreach services to engage homeless Veterans
• independently conducting interviews and assessments for the purpose of program enrollment and to aid in the development of treatment plans
• Utilizing Housing First and other evidence-based practice models to promote Veteran engagement and self-efficacy
• Assisting the Veteran with housing placement - beginning with the process of obtaining a HUD-VASH voucher from the Public Housing Authority (PHA) through the lease up process
• Advocating on behalf of Veterans and their families with landlords - PHA - community providers and internal VA stakeholders
• Assisting Veterans to form and achieve goals to improve quality of life - to include the pursuit of employment - engagement in medical and mental health care - increased social supports - access to benefits and end of life planning
• providing community-based - clinical case management and care coordination services at the frequency commensurate with the Veteran's stage of case management - clinical needs - and preferences for care
• Conducting home visits - with the intent of removing barriers for access to care - supporting housing stability and assessing social and community integration
• Providing a wide range of social work interventions and services in both individual or group settings - as consistent with VHA Directive 1110.02 Social Work Professional Practice and approved scope of practice
• Timely - accurate and clear documentation in the Electronic Health Record - Homeless Operations Management and Evaluations System (HOMES) - and other applicable databases or platforms
• Familiarity and adherence to the Housing and Urban Development Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program VHA Directive and HUD-VASH Operating Requirements
• Other duties as assigned - as related to the needs of the program
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior work experience or military service experience
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: AD-HOC Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized