Career Center

The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System is recruiting for a Senior Social Worker. The Senior Social Worker will function in the Housing and Urban Development - Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program. The HUD-VASH Program is an intensive case management program for chronically homeless veterans aimed at providing psychosocial services to veterans while residing in stable housing through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. 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. 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/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. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Valid state driver's license. Grade Determinations - Senior Social Worker, (GS-12) Experience and 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 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. Preferred Experience: Experience working with homeless populations Experience working with substance use disorder and mental health Experience working in a community experience The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Physical Requirements: Lifting and carrying light objects under 15 pounds using two hands is required. Walking up to two hours is required. Incumbent will also need to have the ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination, correctable vision, hearing with or without aid, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors and emotional and mental stability. This position requires incumbent to drive a government vehicle. The incumbent must be able to move freely on uncertain terrain, in the community, to perform duties related to homeless outreach. The applicant must be able to navigate buildings and other community settings that may not be ADA compliant. This could include, but is not limited to, i.e. ascending and descending stairs; navigating an uneven ground at a homeless campsite, community homeless shelters. ["The HUD-VASH Program is an intensive case management program for chronically homeless veterans aimed at providing psychosocial services to veterans while residing in stable housing through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. The Senior Social Worker (HUD-VASH) functions as an intensive case manager for chronically homeless veterans, a special patient population with highly complex health and/ or mental health problems. They provide psychosocial services to veterans who reside in stable housing through Housing Choice Vouchers utilizing a team approach. The position is a case manager and advocate for the veteran through collaboration with multiple community agencies such as Northeast Ohio Coalition of Homelessness, HUD, Veterans Service Commission, the Public Housing Authority and Supportive Housing initiatives. The Senior Social Worker coordinates care on behalf of veterans with the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System (VANEOHS). The Senior Social Worker duties include, but are not limited to: Provides case management for a caseload of veterans in the HUD-VASH program; psychosocial screening, assessment, counseling and crisis intervention. Develops a comprehensive treatment plan in collaboration with the veteran. Coordinates family conferences and provides education to families as well as to the veteran. Reviews agreements between HCV landlords, Public Housing Authorities and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements. Performs site visits of HUD-VASH apartments to ensure that veterans reside in safe environments in compliance with local housing codes. Verifies the veteran's status, eligibility for VA medical care, and eligibility of program participation. Ensures that chronically homeless veterans are considered as primary participants for program acceptance. Collects and and submits HUD VASH Program participant data as outlined by NEPEC evaluation procedures and the VA Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) registry. Provides HUD VASH case management. Case management is defined as the provision of services by VA clinical staff to homeless veterans and includes all activities to provide appropriate treatment and maintain veterans in HUD approved stable housing. Provides individual, group, and/or family psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions to assist veterans with securing, adjusting to, and maintaining stable housing. Coordinates care including serving as an advocate on behalf of the veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery, and linking and referring veterans to the VA Medical Center, VA Regional Offices and/or community agencies. Complies with criminal conflict of interest laws and Executive Branch Standards of conduct so as to avoid conflicts of interest while serving as the HUD VASH Case Manager Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Travel: 75% or less Functional Statement #: 91951-0 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required"]

Return to Search Results