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. 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: Individuals assigned as Supervisory Social Workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. 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 9 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. Preferred Experience: None Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The work is sometimes sedentary. Typically, the employee will sit to perform administrative work. However, other position duties include physical requirements which include but not limited to, long periods of walking; standing; bending; crouching, reaching, and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small part. The employee is required to drive a government vehicle and may be required to travel off station to complete required functions of the job including outreach to sites where homeless individuals frequent or receive services.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The incumbent, functions as both a case manager for the Medical Center's Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program (HCHV) and the outreach worker for the program. HCHV is a program to provide service to homeless and potentially homeless Veterans. In the Case Manager role, the incumbent provides case management support to Veterans who have not yet been admitted to one of the various homeless programs (i.e. Housing and Urban Development - Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), Grant and Per Diem (GPD), or HCHV Contract Residential) but is homeless or at risk of being homeless and in need of case management. As the Outreach Worker, the incumbent performs outreach to shelters, soup kitchens, homeless drop-in centers, homeless encampments, and other places where homeless Veterans congregate in the NIHCS catchment area. The incumbent provides on-going case management and early treatment interventions to homeless and at risk of homeless Veterans for the purpose of fostering engagement in treatment services and sustained stability leading to permanent housing.. The incumbent must be able to develop appropriate professional relationships with the Veterans and meet the Veteran where he or she is ready to engage in treatment. Functions Include: Is responsible for providing case management for homeless and at risk of homeless Veterans in NIHCS catchment area who are not assigned to the HUDVASH, GPD, or HCHV Contract Residential Programs. 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 encourage Veterans toward stable housing. Conducts a substantial amount of work in the community in order to meet the requirements of the HCHV program. Veterans are contacted at missions, soup kitchens, shelters, as well as in halfway houses, rehab centers, other treatment facilities, homeless encampments, and other street locations where the homeless congregate. This may include outreach to unsafe or unsavory areas. The social worker will assess the safety risks involved and may elect to work with another VA staff member or non-VA community worker during outreach to certain areas. Makes rapid assessments and develops crisis management plans as indicated. Has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, staff will follow the protocol of the mental health clinic at the NIHCS. Provides coverage to the entire catchment area for NIHCS, so there is required transportation between campuses and CBOCS as well as community locations as mentioned under the general description above. Verifies the Veteran's status, eligibility for VA medical care, and eligibility of program participation. Completes Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) registry information as appropriate Assists with coverage the homeless walk-in clinic. Coordinates and participates in program outreach functions such as acting as a participant on Stand Down committees, Community Homelessness Assessments, CHALENG Meetings, PDHRA's and welcome home events as well as a variety of outreach activities including but not limited to social service agency meetings, health fairs, and educational events in the community. Networks with community agencies and entities to develop/maintain partnerships to serve Veterans. NOTE: Additional Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties are required and can be provided upon request. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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) 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 #: 92627A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized