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. Learn more To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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/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. Grade Determinations:. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 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. 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. (4) 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. Preferred Experience: Prefer experience with Alaska Native Population Prefer experience with VAHCS Prefer experience with homeless Veteran population References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 September 10, 2019 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds); Moderate carrying (15-44 pounds); Use of fingers; Walking (2 hours); Standing (2 hours); operation of crane, truck, tractor or motor vehicle; 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; Hearing (aid permitted); emotional/mental stability Environmental Factors: Outside and inside; Dry atmospheric conditions; Working closely with others; Working alone ["Functions and Scope of Practice: Independent coordination of case management services for Veterans and of family members of housed Veterans receiving housing provided through tribal housing vouchers. Must have extensive knowledge of area providers and systems that provide treatment and resources through the Alaska Tribal Healthcare Consortium, as well as tribal culture and customs. Increased responsibility due to the distant relationship with the support hospital. Works independently in a rural/remote environment as the \"systems expert,\" providing intensive case management services that focus on areas of housing, mental health problems, psychosocial needs, barriers to treatment and mitigating risk factors related to incarceration and readjustment back to the local community. Case management for a complex caseload of homeless Veterans in the HUD-VASH programs within the South East Region of Alaska that is composed of all cities, towns, villages and surrounding rural areas served by the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority. Provides a psychosocial assessment to identify \"at-risk\" factors. They then work closely with the Veteran to develop a treatment plan. Subject matter expert on family-based interventions and advocacy for homeless tribal Veterans. Incumbent mentors and trains program, service, and AVAHS personnel in service delivery to homeless tribal Veterans with families in the area of responsibility. Reviewing agreements between Tribes, landlords, Tribal Housing Authorities and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements. Performs on-site visits of HUD-VASH apartments to ensure that Veterans reside in safe environments in compliance with local housing codes. Verifies the Veteran's enrolled tribal member status, eligibility for VA medical care, and eligibility of program participation. Collecting and submitting HUD-VASH Program participant data as outlined by the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System. Providing HUD-VASH case management in a rural and remote environment. Serving as an advocate on behalf of the enrolled Tribal Veterans and their family members to ensure comprehensive service delivery, and linking and referring Veterans and families to the VA Healthcare System, VA Regional Offices and/or Tribal/community agencies. The incumbent complies with criminal conflict of interest laws and Executive Branch Standards of conduct so as to avoid conflicts of interest. Actively participates in the HUD-VASH/ Program conference calls and attends training. Consults with the Chief, HCHV to inform Tribal HUD-VASH program planning and development, making the supervisor aware of shifting trends with caseloads. Performs accountability functions: (1) document all contacts with patients/families in the medical charts; (2) completes statistical and other reports. Responsible for completing the following duties/responsibilities: Conduct psychosocial assessments to determine needs of enrolled tribal member Veterans and family members. Lead/manage participants in the treatment planning process with other disciplines. Initiate discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate. Provide individual, family and group counseling as appropriate. Provide consultation/education to Veterans, their families and community providers on area resources, advance directives and VA benefits. Provide case management to Veterans and families, in office, community, or environment as needed, throughout the continuum of care. Provide wellness/prevention education and facilitate patient and family support groups as appropriate. Supervise the practice of students, interns, and case managers assigned to the HUD-VASH program upon program need. Coordinate and develop lines of communication with the AVAHS, HCHV in Anchorage and the Tribal community resources to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans Develop/maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with Joint Commission, CARF, VA and medical center policy and procedures. Maintaining accurate records of relevant trainings and participate in continuing education in accordance with VA policies and state licensure. Evaluate practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Complete all mandatory VA trainings in a timely manner. Documents in the patient's medical record in accordance with AVAHS policies, and the requirements of TJC and CARF. Required to operate and drive a government vehicle to provide services in the community. Performs other related duties as assigned Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 0800-1630 Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000000 EDRP Authorized: Please contact the VISN 20 EDRP Coordinator @ V20CompensationTeam@va.gov Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,298 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
