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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. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/26/2023 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 Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. 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/. 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. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 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). Preferred Experience: Experience working within a multidisciplinary program Experience coordinating and accessing resources Prior experience with homeless or at-risk for homeless populations Experience doing home visits or outreach in the community Experience diagnosing and providing treatment and case management Grade Determinations: GS12 Senior Social Worker 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: a. 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. b. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. c. 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. d. 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. e. 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. Advanced Practice Level: For all assignments above the full performance (journey) 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. Advanced Practice Level is defined as the ability to provide independent and expert clinical psychosocial and case management services in a specialized area of practice to Veterans who tend to have serious and severe crises, may lack any familial and community support, may be poor self-monitors, may frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or may have major deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. The advanced practice or senior social worker has an increased depth and breadth of practice skills; has expertise in participating in the professional development of colleagues through mentorship and teaching; demonstrates leadership in developing and expanding professional intervention strategies; demonstrates leadership in defining and attending to professional practice issues; and has the ability to expand the conceptual knowledge of the profession. The advanced practice or senior social worker will make independent professional decisions and recommendations for agency action; the consequences to the Veteran of these decisions and actions may be quite serious. Work involves intensive social work services requiring the exercise of mature professional judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of complex social work practice skills not typically required in routine social work interventions. The advanced practice or senior social worker has mastered a range of specialized interventions and provides consultation to colleagues, renders professional opinions based on experience and expertise, develops new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention, and incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment. The advanced practice or senior social worker utilizes outcome evaluations to further treatment and designs system changes based on empirical findings. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39 VA Qualification Standards. http://vaww1.va.gov/ohrm/Directives-Handbooks/Direct_Hand.htm The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting/carrying under (under 15 pounds), reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking/standing (up to 6 hours); repeated bending (15 mins); climbing, legs only (1 hour); both legs required; operation of a motor vehicle; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision correctable at 13: to 16: to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; both eyes required; depth perception; ability to distinguish basic and shades of colors; hearing (aid permitted); emotional and mental stability; cognitive stability; ["Duties/responsibilities:\n- Makes regular home visits, based on acuity level of the Veteran, to assess housing stability, social and community integration, and recovery process.\n- Verifies the Veteran's status and eligibility of program participation.\n- Identifies behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation and follows local standard operating procedures (SOP's) and policies for reporting to appropriate authorities.\n- Conducts an intake assessment with Veterans referred to HUD-VASH including a comprehensive biopsychosocial (BPS) assessment to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and works collaboratively with the Veteran to create an individualized treatment plan including measurable, achievable goals identifying the Veteran's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Completes the Columbia Suicide Severity Risk Screening (C-SSRS) in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) on all patients at intake. Adds treatment plan goals on any Veteran whose record is flagged \"High Risk for Suicide.\" Updates the treatment plan regularly as identified by the changing needs of the Veteran or in accordance with local HUD-VASH or BHS policy.\n- Evaluates and mitigates at-risk Veterans in crisis to include: Identifying immediate needs, completes the Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation, Suicide Safety Plan, and Suicide Behavior & Overdose Report (SBOR) as clinically indicated per BHS policy.\n- Educates the Veteran and his/her family about obtaining a HUD-VASH voucher with the public housing authority (PHA) and assisting the Veteran with navigating this process and selecting a housing unit within the Veterans preferred community. Helps Veterans obtain documents required for annual recertifications.\n- Transports Veterans in HUD-VASH as needed to assist with housing stability. Follows all SOP's and policies regarding use of a government vehicle and community safety.\n- Reviews agreements between landlords, PHA and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements.\n- Visits HUD-VASH apartments to ensure that Veterans reside in safe environments in compliance with local housing codes.\n- Submits HUD-VASH participant data as outlined by Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation Systems (HOMES) procedure.\n- Provides a range of interventions and treatment modalities for individuals, family, and group counseling or psychotherapy as appropriate.\n- Provides psychoeducational groups based on need or specific area of focus, such as understanding the PHA, the housing search process, tenancy rights and responsibilities, developing interpersonal skills, budgeting, and maintaining sobriety and/or harm reduction strategies.\n- Facilitates and providing access to appropriate treatment and supportive case management services to Veterans in HUD-VASH by coordinating Veteran-centered care across service providers, including VA and non-VA providers. 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.\n- Assists Veterans with pursuing employment to increase their income and integrate into the community.\n- Assists Veterans in determining eligibility and applying for VA and non-VA benefits (e.g. Social Security, SNAP).\n- Avoids conflicts of interest as outlined in criminal conflict interest laws.\n- Follows SOP for documenting in CPRS and maintaining data to comply with Joint Commission, CARF, VA and medical center policy/procedures.\n- Educates and links the Veteran with services, resources, benefits and opportunities, in order to maximize the Veteran's independence, health, and well-being.\n- Plans, develops and advises the supervisor of shifting trends with caseloads and makes recommendations on program procedure or policy changes. Strives to develop more effective and efficient ways of delivering healthcare services to HUD-VASH Program veterans.\n- Responsible for improving professional skills, participates in HUD-VASH Program conference calls, plans and executes specific staff development projects, attends seminars, and participates in training programs of other disciplines as requested.\n- Liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed.\n- Subject matter expert to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of Veterans offering professional opinions based on experience, expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm\nTelework: Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 000000\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nEDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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