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The Samuel S. Stratton VA Medical Center is a level-1c, complex tertiary medical center located in Albany, NY; serving veterans from Upstate New York to the Canadian border. The incumbent serves as a Veteran Care Coordinator (VCC) and performs duties associated with ensuring culturally competent, patient centered, and effective care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT+) Veterans consistent with Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policies and priorities. 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: Social Worker Citizenship: US Citizen 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 Master 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/. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed for this vacancy. 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). NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. Social Worker GS-12 Grade Determinations: Creditable Experience: The candidate must have knowledge of current professional social work practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board. Quality of Experience: Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level. 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. Licensure/Certification: 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. 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: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. 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. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 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 GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU LGBTQ+ VCCs are knowledgeable about LGBTQ+ Veteran health issues, best clinical practices and their VA medical facility and local community's service availability. Effective VA medical facility LGBTQ+ VCCs are excellent advocates for Veterans and teachers who can tailor educational or training content for different clinical and non-clinical learners. The Social Worker is capable of practicing at the advanced level and has specialized knowledge of practice typically related to a particular diagnosis or population. Incumbent should have at least 2 years in an area of specialized social work practice and licensed or hold certification in a state at the advanced practice level. Duties and Responsibilities: Clinical Functions: Psychosocial Assessments: Provides psychosocial assessment and diagnoses mental disorders based on assignment and clinical privileges. Performs case finding and outreach to identify and screen patients for psychosocial needs. Documents results of assessments, consultations, and interventions. Is responsible for assessment, management and follow up on psychiatric emergencies in the setting to which they are assigned. Psychosocial Treatment: Provides education with recovery-oriented core principles to patients, family members and significant others. Provides targeted evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for individuals, couples, groups, families, and eligible caregivers. Provides targeted evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for individuals, couples, groups, families, and eligible caregivers. Coordination of Care: Collaborates with patient's interdisciplinary team, including participation in treatment team meetings/huddles. Initiates and promotes communication among medical staff and mental health staff, patients, their families, and caregivers to facilitate the treatment process. Maintains a high level of customer service with all stakeholders during each stage of care delivery. Works to resolve conflicts between departments and workgroups to ensure continuity of programs and Veteran care. Administrative Functions Program Evaluation & Consultation: Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. The social worker is able to demonstrate the ability to design changes based on empirical findings. Offers consultation to colleagues, social work students, residents, interns, and fellows from other disciplines regarding the psychosocial treatment of patients, rendering professional opinions based Veteran Care Coordinator Responsibilities: Supporting the implementation of national policies related to LGBTQ+ Veteran health at the VA medical facility to ensure consistent access to culturally competent care for LGBTQ+ Veterans. Investigating and recommending corrective action upon awareness of an issue and, as appropriate, offering recommendations to the VA medical facility Director for further action to assist the VA medical facility in educating staff and creating an affirming environment. Communicating with individual VA medical facility services (e.g., primary care, rehabilitation, mental health, homelessness) to provide tailored guidance and education as needed. Serving as a point-person, source of information, Veteran advocate, and problem-solver for LGBTQ+ Veteran-related health care issues at the VA medical facility. Identifying the needs of LGBTQ+ Veterans within the VA medical facility (e.g., town hall meetings, needs assessment) and assisting the VA medical facility in developing needed care. Serving as a liaison with external LGBTQ+ community organizations Other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 37987F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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