Social Worker

The incumbent will serve as a HUD-VASH Social Worker in Social Work Service (SWS) located in Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS). HUD­VASH is an intensive case management program for chronically homeless veterans aimed at providing psychosocial services to veterans while residing in stable housing through HUD's Section 8 voucher system.

Qualifications:

Health Profession Trainees (HPT's) 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.

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.
• English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Education - You must possess 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.
• License or Certification* - You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. *Exception - For assignments at the GS-9 level, VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker.

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:
GS-09 Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-09, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
• Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

GS-11 Licensure Requirement: You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.

GS-11 Experience or Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-11, you must possess 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. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: 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 patient/family member/caregiver advocate with community service providers/agencies; assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members. In collaboration with the patient, family, and interdisciplinary treatment teams, identifying strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and psychosocial acuity. Maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the patient and/or family members/caregivers and assist with appropriate referrals. -OR- 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. In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• 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, educational, and other 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.

Preferred Experience:

• One year of experience performing community based social work.
• One year of experience working with clients with substance abuse of mental health disorders.
• One year of experience working with homeless persons.
• One year of experience writing treatment plans.
• One year of experience making referrals.

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 this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Responsibilities:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Social workers are uniquely prepared for this role by virtue of their education, training, and experience which prepares them to understand the person-in-environment and the influences that family and community have in impacting the health care needs of Veterans. The incumbent is responsible for a variety of duties, including but not limited to, the following:

• The incumbent is responsible for providing case management for a caseload of veterans in the HUD-VASH program. The incumbent is responsible for reviewing agreements between Section 8, landlords, Public Housing Authorities and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements.
• The incumbent performs site visits of HUD-VASH apartments to ensure that veterans reside in safe environments in compliance with local housing codes.
• The incumbent verifies the veteran's status, eligibility for VA medical care, and eligibility of program participation.
• The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that homeless veterans are considered as primary participants for program acceptance.
• The incumbent is responsible for collecting and submitting HUD-VASH Program participant data as outlined by NEPEC evaluation procedures.
• The incumbent coordinates care including serving as an advocate on behalf of the veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery and linking and referring veterans to the VA Medical Center, VA Regional Offices and/or community agencies.
• The incumbent complies with criminal conflict of interest laws and Executive Branch Standards of conduct so as to avoid conflicts of interest while serving as the HUD-VASH Case Manager.
• The incumbent actively participates in the HUD-VASH Program conference calls and attends training offered by the HUD-VASH.
• The incumbent is responsible for following local policy and SOP for the HUD­VASH Program. This includes following policies and documentation requirements as required for CARF and JC accreditation.
• The incumbent actively participates in program planning and development, advising the supervisor of shifting trends with caseloads and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedure or policy changes based upon work experiences.
• The incumbent will conduct psychosocial assessments to determine
• needs of veterans and family members.
• The incumbent is an active participant in the treatment planning process with other disciplines.
• The incumbent will participate in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate.
• The incumbent will provide individual, family and group counseling as appropriate.
• The incumbent will provide consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits.
• The incumbent will act as a consultant to other team/staff members.
• The incumbent will act as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed.
• The incumbent will provide case management to veterans and families, as needed, throughout the continuum of care.
• The incumbent will provide a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate.
• The incumbent will address Advance Directives and Organ Donation in accordance with the standards of their work area.
• The incumbent will provide wellness/prevention education and facilitate Patient/family support groups as appropriate.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am - 4:30pm
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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: Adhoc Only
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 55071-F, 55072-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $417