The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System is recruiting for a Senior Social Worker within the Housing and Urban Development - Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program. The HUD-VASH social worker functions as an intensive case manager for chronically homeless veterans, a special patient population with highly complex health and/ or mental health problems.
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/Certification. 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. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grade Determination: 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. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Preferred Experience: Community based experience. Experience with homeless, mental health, SUD populations. Physical Requirements: Lifting and carrying light objects under 15 pounds using two hands is required. Walking up to two hours is required. Incumbent will also need to have the ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination, correctable vision, hearing with or without aid, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors and emotional and mental stability. "This position requires operation of a government-owned or -leased motor vehicle to properly carry out assigned duties. A valid state-issued driver license is required, along with medical clearance from Personnel Health"
The Senior Social Worker (HUD-VASH) duties include, but are not limited to: Provides case management for a caseload of veterans in the HUD-VASH program. Provides psychosocial screening, assessment, counseling and crisis intervention Develops a comprehensive treatment plan in collaboration with the veteran. Coordinates family conferences and provides education to families as well as to the veteran. This will require significant travel in the community in a government car. Reviews agreements between HCV landlords, Public Housing Authorities 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. Verifies the veteran's status, eligibility for VA medical care, and eligibility of program participation. Ensures that chronically homeless veterans are considered as primary participants for program acceptance Collects and submits HUD-VASH Program participant data as outlined by NEPEC evaluation procedures and the VA Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) registry. Provides individual, group, and/or family psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions to assist veterans with securing, adjusting to, and maintaining stable housing. Complies with criminal conflict of interest laws and Executive Branch Standards of conduct so as to avoid conflicts of interest while serving as the HUD-VASH Case Manager. Participates in the HUD-VASH Program conference calls and attends training offered by the HUD-VASH. 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. Works with VANEOHS multi-disciplinary teams and community agencies to strive for developing more effective and efficient ways of delivering healthcare services to HUD-VASH Program veterans. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8am-4:30pm Telework: Not Authorized Travel: Up to 25% may be required. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. EDRP Authorized: 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. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN10HREDRPSLRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized