The Senior Social Worker serves as the Community Nursing Home (CNH) program coordinator at the GS-12 grade level, who works closely with staff in all areas of the hospital and is administratively responsible for ensuring appropriate placement for eligible veterans who require nursing home placement in the community or state nursing home. Incumbent develops policies and procedures as needed, for program operation and prepares reports and statistics for the medical center.
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 4 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/. English Language Proficiency: Licensed practical or vocational nurses appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in both spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(f). 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: 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. 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: 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. 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). 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-12. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally moderate. The work may be performed 50% or more of the time in the community. Physical activity involves driving, getting in and out of vehicles, sitting, standing, walking, bending, stooping, climbing stairs (generally no more than 3 floors), and carrying light items such as papers, books or other supplies. Due to the community- based nature of the work and the unpredictable population, staff must be CPR/BLS and PMDB certified. The incumbent uses a computer and standard office equipment to complete tasks. The emotional demands can be stressful in working with the patient population and their families. A level of self-awareness is essential.
The Senior Social Worker serves as the Community Nursing Home (CNH) program coordinator at the GS-12 grade level, who works closely with staff in all areas of the hospital and is administratively responsible for ensuring appropriate placement for eligible veterans who require nursing home placement in the community or state nursing home. Incumbent develops policies and procedures as needed, for program operation and prepares reports and statistics for the medical center. Duties for this position include but are not limited to: A. PROGRAM SPECIFIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITES: PROGRAM COORDINATION The incumbent plans, coordinates, implements, monitors, and evaluates the delivery of services within the Community Nursing Home programs. This includes the inspection of the nursing homes under contract/provider agreement with the VA. Findings and recommendations are reported to the Chief of Community Care. The incumbent monitors the efficiency, effectiveness, timeliness and quality of services offered within this program. This includes the development and monitoring of quality indicators. The incumbent is responsible for continuously improving the efficiency, effectiveness in terms of cost and program interventions) and quality of services. The incumbent will identify areas for improvement, gather relevant data, assess the data develop and implement ideas for improvement, and evaluate efficacy of improvements. The incumbent prepares the goals for each new fiscal year and reports on outcome at the end of the fiscal year. The incumbent is responsible for developing a systematic plan for reviewing and appraising the effectiveness of the CNH program in accordance with VA, VISN, VACO and local facility policy and procedures. The incumbent develops and maintains a standardized process for approving claims from CNH's and submitting these for payment. The incumbent works with facility Fiscal department to ensure that funds are available and payments are made in a timely manner, as well as managing over-all program budget. Incumbent responds in a timely manner to questions and concerns from vendors regarding payment and/or other issues. The incumbent develops and maintains communication with relevant line and supervisory staff in other services/programs that serve the same group of clients. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total Rewards Package: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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 Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position.