The HUD-VASH Social Worker is a full-time position assigned to the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Team aligned under the Behavioral Health Careline. The HUD VASH Social Worker works closely with the HUD VASH Team and if based at a CBOC, may also meet regularly with the CBOC Behavioral Health BHIP team.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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: 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: 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. 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). Grade Determinations: GS-9 (Entry Level) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the basic education requirement, 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. GS-11 (Full Performance Level) 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, 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates 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-09 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Handbook 5019.
Duties include, but are not limited to the duties below: The HUD-VASH Social Worker provides intensive case management services to assigned Veterans and significant others, consistent with the goals and methods of the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program. Intensive case management services includes: frequent, direct contacts with Veterans to provide therapy and support with the goal of maintaining housing, increased contact frequency in times of crisis, flexible Veteran contact, and focusing on strengthening the Veteran's ability to address acute and chronic problems independently. The Social Worker provides care within the framework established by National HUD-VASH Directives and collaborates and consults with other interdisciplinary treatment teams to promote and enhance Veteran care. The social worker may also provide individual/family psychotherapy and group therapy as applicable. The social worker maintains a strong working relationship with community agencies and could include; reviewing agreements between Section 8, landlords, and the Public Housing Authorities. The social worker may establish and maintain appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements and performs site visits of HUD-VASH apartments to ensure that Veterans reside in safe environments, in compliance with local housing codes. The social worker completes psychosocial assessments, initial treatment plans, updated treatment plans and discharge summaries as clinically indicated. He/she collects and submits HUD-VASH Program participant data, as outlined by the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES). The social worker also stays aware of National HUD-VASH directives by participating in HUD-VASH conference calls and attends training offered by the HUD-VASH Team. He/she will follow all local policies and procedures. This includes following policies and documentation requirements as required for CARF and Joint Commission accreditation. The social worker will participate in program planning and development, advises the supervisor of trends with caseloads, identifies needs for program procedure or policy changes and makes recommendations. The social worker is able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing with people from varied backgrounds and is able to evaluate his/her own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Documents social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record and ensures appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care. He/she provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Coordinates treatment and communicates with the other services to facilitate care of Veterans. He/she also has general knowledge of Veterans' benefits and services relating to special programs, service-connected compensation, non-service connected pension. Facilitates referrals based upon Veterans needs and eligibility. The social worker participates in committee assignments, discipline specific meetings and initiatives, as deemed necessary by the service manager. Participates in a rotation of on-call social workers, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on weekends. May provide supervision to a Social Work Intern or be generally involved with the MSW training program. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00PM Telework: Adhoc Position Description Title/PD#: Social Worker/PD21X62A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.