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: Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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/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). 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) 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 (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. Preferred Experience: Case management and MH experience working in community based settings. Experience working with people with substance use disorders. Experience working with complex mental and medical health problems. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES The Senior HUD-VASH Social Worker has expertise in making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnosis within their scope of practice and works with Veterans to develop measurable treatment plans to address diagnosis and identified problems. Incumbent assigned to the homeless program provides community based intensive case management services. Incumbent will provide evidence-based practice treatment to Veterans that is consistent with Housing First and Harm Reduction and effectively uses motivational interviewing techniques to help Veteran move forward on identified goals. Specialized interventions will include individual, group, and family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced practice case management that address complex problems associated with homelessness. The Senior HUD-VASH Social Worker will function as a resource to less experienced, unlicensed social workers on the homeless team and may provide individual and group clinical supervision. Incumbent will lead clinical discussions, take initiative to staff complex cases, and support the HUD-VASH team with clinical consultation and oversight of programmatic requirements. Incumbent provides subject matter consultation to colleagues and students/trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated for homelessness providing professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Incumbent will teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice. The Senior HUD-VASH Social Worker will work with CRS Leadership to assist with interventions and strategies to increase housing retention. Incumbent will work directly with the multidisciplinary Enhanced Team to help identify Veterans at risk of eviction and instability and will design interventions to improve outcomes. Incumbent routinely participates in multidisciplinary team meetings related to Veterans enrolled in homeless programs to ensure transitions of care for population served. The Senior HUD-VASH Social Worker supports CRS Leadership in managing caseload of assigned specialty area including voucher allocation within local Public Housing Authority and project-based housing and is an expert using the Homeless Operation Management Evaluation Systems (HOMES) system, making improvements and adjustments as needed to ensure medical center performance are met or exceeded. Incumbent provides input to CRS Leadership and assists with assists program development by assisting in writing policy, procedures, or practice guidelines. The Senior HUD-VASH Social Worker uses evidence-based practice techniques to engage Veterans in meeting individualized and patient-centered treatment goals and will monitor progress over time. Incumbent will be the Mental Health Treatment Coordinator for assigned caseload and will provide expert case management services. The incumbent is an expert on VA and community resources associated with homelessness, mental health, and substance use disorder treatment. Incumbent is available to the Veterans in area served and assists Veterans in linking to supportive environments in the areas in which they live. Incumbent independently follows medical center policy and procedures and provides clinical care that is consistent with Joint Commission and CARF expectations. The Senior HUD-VASH Social Worker develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of practice and services, utilizing outcome evaluations and use of evidence-based treatment modalities that are effective with Veterans who struggle with homelessness, substance use disorders, along with medically and psychiatrically complex diagnoses. Incumbent assists team members with clinical consultation and development of strategies for engagement of difficult to engage clients. The Senior HUD-VASH Social Worker, using a recovery model framework, independently conducts comprehensive assessments and develops treatment plans in collaboration with Veteran, family, and interdisciplinary treatment team. Incumbent provides wellness/prevention education and facility patient and family support groups as appropriate. Incumbent provides follow up to Veterans who fail to attend appointments, per local procedures. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: AD HOC Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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