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. Program 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.
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. English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in written or 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/. 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. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Please see the Additional Information Section of this announcement for details. Preferred Experience: Experience working within a multidisciplinary program Experience coordinating and accessing resources Prior experience with homeless or at-risk for homeless populations Experience maintaining relationships with community partners Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met for each grade level. GS-09: Experience: None beyond the basic requirements. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) 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: 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, (VA or non- VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level, OR, 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. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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 can be found at the VA Qualification Repository, VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185, Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/2019. 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-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: A pre-placement examination will be required to determine if you are able to safely operate a government vehicle without harm to yourself or others. The following requirements must be met: distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction, field of vision 70 degrees, ability to distinguish red, green and amber, whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The incumbent in this position functions as the Case Manager for El Paso VAHCS's HUD-VASH Program. The HUD-VASH Program falls within the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Programs in Behavioral Health Services. The incumbent is responsible for coordination of case management services for Veterans receiving housing provided through HUD Housing Choice vouchers. Duties include, but are not limited to: Maintains a database of existing and future permanent housing resources as well as providing direct housing search assistance to homeless Veterans throughout the El Paso VAHCS catchment area which includes Las Cruces, NM and El Paso County. Direct housing search includes driving Veterans to or meeting Veterans at housing units both for viewing and walk-through purposes, providing housing lists to Veterans, assisting Veterans in obtaining move-in and security deposits as well as furniture and other household items, helping with rental applications and credit reports, and facilitating individual and group housing search classes. Actively participates in the treatment planning process with other disciplines, and participates in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate. Performs accountability functions: 1) Document all contacts with patients/families in the medical charts; 2) Completes statistical and other reports in accordance with VA Medical Center and respective professional discipline service policies. Reviews agreements between HCV, landlords, PHA's, 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. Participates in program planning and development, advising the supervisor of shifting trends with caseloads and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedure or policy changes based upon work experiences. Coordinates care including serving as an advocate on behalf of the Veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery by linking and referring Veterans to the VA Health Care System, VA Regional Offices and/or community agencies. Collects and submits HUD-VASH Program participant data as outlined by Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation Systems (HOMES) procedures as well as by local HUD-VASH SOP. Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate. 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. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm EDRP Authorized: Contact VISN17EDRP2@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Social Worker (HUD-VASH) Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required