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

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 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: Traveling throughout the medical center and the community is required - as is performing activities involving sitting - walking - and standing - bending and carrying such items as books - papers - and files
• In carrying out responsibilities it may be necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where he/she conducts interviews with the Veterans - their families - representatives of the community
• Applicants 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
• The incumbent must possess current driver's license and will be certified as an incidental driver - pursuant to VHA Directive 2008- 020.

Duties

• The Veterans Justice Program is an outreach program that identifies vulnerable Veterans through outreach in criminal justice settings - to engage them in treatment/rehabilitation programs or community support services that will assist to prevent homelessness - facilitate recovery - and desist from commission of new crimes or parole/probation violations
• The Senior Social Worker Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist provides services for Veterans in the VJO Court - Jail Liaisons and Outreach Services
• 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: Provides outreach to identified community Veterans Courts - community events - and to community/county jails
• Develops processes to gain access to criminal justice settings - which may include state and Federal prisons - county and city jails - and courthouses and will involve obtaining appropriate security clearance - completing any required training - and presenting program information to correctional officials and officers
• Advocates for Veterans in the criminal justice system
• Attends Veterans Treatment Court and to jails to interview Veterans
• Determines eligibility for VHA services
• Conducts thorough bio-psychosocial assessments
• meets with court personnel for case consultation - communicates with the court treatment recommendations
• Provides triage assessment in crisis intervention - seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint - communicating with the consulting team - Veteran/family psychosocial resources available
• Provides education and information on the VJO Program - Veterans Treatment Courts - Community Courts as well as brief assessments for eligibility for Courts
• Assists with release plans if incarcerated and homeless outreach to include referrals to healthcare - treatment - housing - employment - and all resources available to Veteran serviced by VJO and VHA services
• Travels throughout the medical center and the community is a component of providing patient centered care - continuity of care and for follow-up with the Veteran - families - community agencies - and law enforcement
• Responsible for conducting visits and documenting the level case management
• conducts on-going re-assessments with the Veteran
• Participates in collaborative treatment planning with the Veteran - family - and the multi/interdisciplinary treatment team
• Reassesses the Veterans current bio-psychosocial situation - to include health - financial - residential status - coordinate any equipment needs and other needs that may affect discharge
• Complete program specific documentation
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm Location: Long Beach/Orange County - CA Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Adhoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available 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
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Available