The incumbent is assigned to provide all appropriate social work services in the Community Engagement and Reintegration Service (CERS) as a Transitional Housing (THP) Senior Social Worker. The incumbent also performs duties independently in community-based settings to include working with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds. Basic Requirements Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Licensure: Candidate 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. Education: Master's degree in social work (MSW) 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 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 master's degree in social work. Preferred Experience: None Grade Determinations: GS-12 Senior Social Worker Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, applicants 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. 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. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard. Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds); light carrying (under 15 pounds); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking; standing; hearing (aid permitted). ["Provides services and oversight of the Homeless GPD funded programs as defined in the GPD rules, regulations, and directives including verification of Veteran status and eligibility for participation in the Homeless Providers GPD Program, maintaining admission and discharge dates of participants for billing purposes, reviewing and approving/disapproving readmissions to include extensions of care, and collecting and submitting participant information as outlined by VA Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES). Actively participates in program planning and development, advising the GPD of shifting trends with caseloads and identifying the need for and making recommendations regarding program procedure or policy changes with the coordinator and the program directly. Coordinates and participates in program site inspections utilizing the GPD rules, regulations, and directives outlined in the GPD standard Operating Procedures (SOP) as guidance and forwards completed inspection packages to the appropriate offices. Notes inspection deficiencies and in coordination with program leadership, establishes methods to monitor corrective actions and develops timelines for consequences because of inaction or insufficient actions related to deficiencies as needed. Identifies high risk Veterans, conducts biopsychosocial assessments, develops treatment plans, provides case management, and therapeutic services at GPD sites as described in the GPD rules, regulations, and directives. Performs specialized treatment of complex mental illness, addictions, homeless and special populations (women, OEF/OIF, older adults and families) on site and in the community. Engages with community agencies, organizations, and groups to coordinate services or resources available for homeless Veterans as well as provide current information on services and benefits available in the VA for GPD participants. Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of homeless Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. May serve as field instructor for social work trainees or clinical supervisor for unlicensed VA social workers. Participates in Medical Center research by identifying questions and trends that should be studied as a basis toward improving aspects of social service and/or physical or mental health care delivery to Veterans as well as devising and carrying out studies designed to test appropriate hypotheses. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 08:00am-04:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Determined by the agency policy on a case by case basis and are dependent on needs of Veterans or of the department. Telework: Yes- as determined by the agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.