The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) Social Worker is assigned to the Caregiver Support Program with primary responsibilities to provide clinical evidence-based services and interventions; provide Caregiver, Veteran and staff education on Caregiver issues; engage in community outreach and resource development; continuous quality-improvement activities, and evaluation/consultation. 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. For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam, and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam. In states such as California, Washington, and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years, social workers must become licensed at the independent, master's level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Social Worker, GS-9 Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, 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. Social Worker, 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. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c.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-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. The work is generally sedentary in nature with daily intermittent walking, standing, bending, stooping, reaching and carrying of lightweight items required. Periods of time may be moderately demanding to include increased driving, or assisting Veterans with impaired mobility while making visits to Veterans homes and other community agencies. Intermittent complicated issues with Veteran or significant others may periodically become stressful. Documentation in electronic medical record is required for position necessitating good hand/eye coordination. Occasional lifting, moving or rare transporting of Veteran's possession weighing up to 40 lbs. The incumbent may be required to travel between VA and/or Non-VA clinical care sites and possession of a valid driver's license may be required. ["Major duties include, but are not limited to: Participate in direct Caregiver and Veteran contacts to identify and assess Caregiver stress/burden and the development and application of directed clinical treatment interventions. Facilitate the application process for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) and serve as a liaison for applicants throughout the process. Provide clinical case social work management for Caregivers on an ongoing basis, utilizing in-person, virtual, and in-home modalities as indicated by VA Directive, Standard Operating Procedure, and Public Law. Advise and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams throughout the medical center on Caregiver issues. Create educational tools, develop programs and implement training focused on specific Caregiver needs/issues. Provide education and in-service training to VAMC employees, Veterans, families and Caregivers, and provide ongoing consultation and support to colleagues regarding Caregiver support, and collaborate with the VA Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), mental health, and geriatric primary care clinicians to provide Veteran and staff education on Caregiver issues. Develop and facilitate Caregiver support groups (face-to-face or VANTS telephone line) and educational programs. Provide referrals to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs. Serve as a consultant for navigating the complex processes Caregivers, Veterans, and families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies. Serve as a liaison between the VA and community agencies and participate in Caregiver support activities in the local community and state to promote and recognize the role of the Caregiver and may be involved in state and local Caregiver support committees. Effectively use electronic documentation systems, including the VA Electronic Health Record, the Caregiver Support Program's web-based application tracking system and locally developed systems such as Excel workbooks. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; administrative hours Telework: May be available Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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