The Social Worker position is located in the Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program within the Social Work Service at Northport VA Medical Center. They independently perform duties and responsibilities by providing a high level of professional social work services to clients with a broad range of psychosocial and environmental problems. They exercise professional judgment use of a wide range of social work skills/techniques with complicated cases. 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/. Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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). Creditable Experience. The candidate must have knowledge of current professional social work practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board. Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of part-time work. Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., group or family practice. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. 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-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. 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: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. Preferred Experience: An Applicant with a Valid States Driver's License. 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Duties may include, but are not limited to: The Social Worker assists in the day-to-day operations of the Program/Unit specific to his/her area of assignment and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility and the VA Central Office initiatives. Conducts Veteran, family, and caregiver clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress and social needs as treatment issues. Professional judgement, including the knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior, is an inherent competency applied in daily interactions. Responsibilities include high risk needs assessment and screening, early intervention/admission diversion, case finding, psychosocial assessment, psychosocial treatment planning, individual counseling and case work, group work, caregiver support, family counseling, psychotherapy, community/home/residence/agency visits, information and referral. Responsible for the coordination of the psychosocial aspects of discharge and aftercare planning, clinical case management and care coordination, patient advocacy, crisis intervention, critical incident stress management, trauma counseling, patient/caregiver/family education, and end of life planning. Coordination of community-based services, liaison to community programs and resources, resource brokering, community outreach, program planning and development of new initiatives, consultation to and coordination with other health care professionals and community agencies are functions required of the incumbent. Participates in social research and performance improvement activities related to health care and outcome evaluation. Collaborates with community agencies in developing psychosocial support services and participates in community-based educational functions and events related to Medical Center and Social Work programming. Outreaches to new populations. Identifies unmet Veteran needs, gaps in service delivery systems, and barriers to timely program access and participates in the development of additional community resources and partnerships between the VA and community agencies. Assists in staff development and continuing education activities to upgrade the clinical proficiency of Social Work and other health care staff. Documents clinical professional interventions in the Veteran's medical record. Performs clinical activities and therapeutic interventions in support of the Veteran's financial, housing, legal, vocational, community integration, health care and other psychosocial needs. Serves as a consultant for navigating the complex processes Veterans, caregivers, and families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies. Assist in coordinating events and programs for the program/unit in which they are assigned as applicable. Performs a wide range of services and may provide technical assistance to state, local, and private agencies, and universities. Technical assistance is based on monitoring activities and program reviews, and the development and analysis of information. In addition, uses sound judgment in the interpretation of trends and patterns; the application of guidelines; and the recommendation of program enhancements. The Social Worker is able to maintain a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with Social Work standards, Joint Commission/CARF standards, and facility standards. The Social Worker is willing to serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility as deemed appropriate by the Supervisor and Chief, Social Work Service. The Social Worker is flexible to include modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs during WHEN hours as needed. These clinical duties constitute the majority of the Social Worker's responsibilities; however, other collateral duties may be assigned to address patient care, Social Work or Medical Center needs. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm and depending the needs of the department. Telework: Ad-hoc (Discretion of the supervisor, will be discussed during the interviewing process) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 26270-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized"]
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.
