Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Qualifications

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 the CSWE website to verify that the Social Work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master's 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
• License documentation must be submitted with application
• 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: 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
• 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
• 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: Must be in overall good health - able to sit at a desk working at a computer - engage in moderate physical activity including sitting - walking - bending - and carrying supplies
• Must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands - exercise patience - and control emotions - with reasonable accommodation - if necessary - without endangering the health and safety of the applicant or others
• Requires use of federal vehicles for the delivery of community-based services
• Must be medically cleared and trained before operating a federal vehicle - pursuant to VHA Directive 2008- 020
• All Social Workers who are required to use federal vehicles for their duties are REQUIRED TO BE CERTIFIED as an Incidental Driver
• May require a history review and if pertinent issues - may need to submit to a physical to be certified as an Incidental Driver
• VA's are required to have current employee's and new hires who operate government vehicles and/or transport Veterans participate in periodic examinations every three - four years
• As part of the certification - Incidental Drivers are required to be evaluated or examined as determined by Occupational Health
• There are no specific required lab tests however - during the medical history taking exam - the Examiner is required to evaluate any condition reasonably and adequately before providing the medical clearance
• If the Supervisory Social Worker has a chronic medical condition that may impact safe use of a federal vehicle - the Examiner may ask the employee to be examined or for copies of the treating doctors' notes.The position requires walking throughout the Medical Center and clinics - standing for extended periods of time - and sitting at a computer and in consultation with Veterans/interdisciplinary teams
• Requires close visual acuity to prepare/analyze data and figures
• transcribe
• view a computer terminal
• extensive reading
• and repetitive motions of the wrists - hands - and fingers.

Duties

• The Senior Social Worker practices within the Housing and Urban Development / VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program within Social Work Service of Long Beach VA
• The Senior Social Worker's primary responsibilities include providing case management services for clinically complex Veterans and providing consultation and support to other HUD-VASH Team members
• Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Duties include - but are not limited to: Provide consultation/education to Veterans and families on community resources - advance directives - VA benefits and resources
• Provides a full range of Social Work services to include case management - clinical support - individual - family and group counseling - discharge planning - and other services as appropriate to Veterans and families - as needed throughout the continuum of care
• Supports internal working partnerships to reduce barriers across all homeless and VA medical facility programs to ensure a seamless transition between providers for Veterans served in HUD-VASH
• Engages in community outreach and developing community partnerships
• Coordinates with local PHA to provide streamlined and timely processes for HUD-VASH voucher utilization
• Supports the process for referral - evaluation and admission to HUD-VASH to ensure the most vulnerable Veterans are prioritized
• Supports a multidisciplinary team model of care to expand the provision of support for Veterans to improve stability and housing retention
• Provides case consultation - especially around high-risk situations
• Guarantees regular and ongoing reconciliation of data in HOMES against internal tracking mechanisms and with the PHA(s) on the status of vouchers - including those for Veterans who have graduated from case management but maintain a HUD-VASH voucher
• Works closely with community partners to eliminate Veteran homelessness
• Establish practices to rapidly identify and assess homeless Veterans for HUD-VASH
• Outreach and Access
• Performs accountability functions: documents all contacts with Veterans/families in the medical charts and completes statistical and other reports in accordance with VA Medical Center and respective professional discipline service policies
• Conducts psychosocial assessments to determine needs of Veterans and family members
• Active participant in the treatment planning process with other disciplines
• Verifies the Veteran's status - eligibility for VA medical care - and eligibility of program participation
• Verves as an advocate on behalf of the Veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery and linking and referring Veterans to the VA Medical Center - VA Regional Offices and/or other community agencies
• Performs other related duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Location: Vacancy in Santa Ana - CA
• Additional vacancies may be filled in Long Beach - CA
• Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• This is not a remote position Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required EDRP Authorized: This position is eligible for 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 your start date
• 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 are ineligible to apply for the program
• Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions/assistance.