Social Worker

Summary

The Social Worker in this position provides direct services to adult and geriatric veterans enrolled in the Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program with high quality case management - clinical treatment - advocacy - and coordination of care with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies as needed by the client.

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 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 SW Licensure by State English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• Social Worker - GS-11 (Full Performance Level) 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
• GS-9 experience includes: Working under close supervision in program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience
• Identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse - neglect or exploitation
• providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning
• providing social work case management
• acting as an advocate with community service providers/agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver
• assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members identifying strengths - weaknesses - coping skills and psychosocial acuity - in collaboration with the patient - family - and interdisciplinary treatment teams
• maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the patient and/or family members/caregivers and assist with the appropriate referrals
• Education
• In addition to meeting the 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: Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Develops an assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team - the veteran - and family members/significant others - whenever possible
• Responsible for contributing to the development of the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the veteran - family members/significant others and other HBPC clinical staff
• Acts as a subject matter expert on VA and/or other community resources
• Collaborates with other service providers in reassessing the veteran's needs for non-institutional - institutional services/programs and entitlements
• Responsible for using the current Social Work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of the veteran
• Acts as an advocate for the veteran and educates and encourages the veteran to advocate on his/her behalf - thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment
• Makes rapid assessments and develops crisis management plans
• Provides education related to VA and community resources - entitlements - advance directives/living wills and will refer veterans and families/significant others to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized EDRP Authorized: 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 Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: GS 11: 260308F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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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.

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