Clarification from the agency

This position is ONLY open to VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System Employees, VA Employees Nationwide, and all other Federal Employees.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• The VA Liaison (Program Coordinator) works closely with the MTF treatment team as an independent practitioner; using advanced practice skills and expertise to provide ongoing consultation regarding complex discharge planning issues; and VA health care benefits, resources and facilities.
• Clearly independently identifies the Servicemember's/Veteran's health care and psychosocial needs, and include requests for VHA health care services to ensure Clinical and Consult Orders or authorizations, specifying which VHA services are authorized and are completed prior to the transfer of any Servicemember(s)/Veteran(s) to a VA health care facility.
• Meeting with the Servicemember/Veteran and family to provide education and an overview of VA health benefits and resources, and to address current medical and psychosocial issues identified as part of the
  Servicemember's/Veteran's treatment plan.
• Coordinating with the VA Liaison's home VA health care facility Post 9/11 Military 2 VA Case Management Program (M2VA), to initially register Active Duty Servicemembers or enroll Veterans at their facility utilizing the referral information.
• Identifying and communicating with the M2VA Program Manager and Lead Coordinator if applicable, at the
  receiving VA health care facility to initiate and process referrals and linkages for transfers of care.
• Documenting all VA Liaison activity in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) nationally standardized templates as well as documenting in the Federal Case Management Tool (FCMT).
• To facilitate the continuity of care, communicating and collaborating with the Service Member and family regarding the plans for transition while determining any unique needs requiring attention.
• Maintaining contact with the M2VA Program Manager and with MTF staff, coordinating the transfer of care upon discharge from the MTF, and assisting in identifying and obtaining additional information needed from the MTF staff to optimize the transfer of care.
• Providing patient level referral and outcome information on all transfers of care from the MTF to
  the VA Liaison National Program Manager, Care Management and Social Work Services, Office of Patient Care Services (10P4C), on a monthly basis, inputting summary information into the workload activity log in FCMT on a weekly basis, and attending regularly scheduled conference calls.
• Collaborating and communicating pertinent referral information with Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) staff also located at the MTF.
• Collaborating and communicating with various agencies and departments at the national, state and local level in ensuring the seamless transition of health care.
• Preparing reports, briefs, and presentations for VA staff at all levels, DOD staff, Congressional Staff, Community Organizations, etc., regarding the seamless transition process and specific mechanics of their program.
• Managing the day-to-day operations of the VA Liaison initiative, and providing accountability to program
  effectiveness and modifications of service patterns to enhance customer service.
• Identifying gaps in the transition system and collaborating with MTF and DOD Staff and other departments to enhance the transition process.
• Demonstrating knowledge and skills necessary to provide a smooth transition for Service Members/Veterans with severe and non-severe injuries and the Service Member's/Veteran's family and significant other to VHA.
• Interpreting guidelines consisting of VHA general administrative and clinical management policies, Directives, Handbooks, nationwide patient care initiatives, VA and VBA policies and procedures, Public Law, Federal Regulations, the Joint Commission (JC) and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) standards, and other program-specific guidelines.
• Utilizing the above guidelines, the incumbent exercises considerable judgment in designing, writing, developing, coordinating, and implementing plans, data collection, reporting requirements, and evaluation of seamless transition services provided by VHA staff.
• Collaborating with many VA, VHA, and VBA offices, including field staff, VISN offices, VHA facilities, VA Central Office programs, DOD, Veterans Service Organizations, and other Federal agencies.
• Developing, gathering, and applying new data as needed in order to successfully plan for and implement program goals and projections.
• Assisting in developing and implementing transition policies and programs that are of vital significance and interest to the top management of VHA, VA, DOD, Veterans Service Organizations, and Congress.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Telework: Yes - as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 554-55360A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.

1. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
2. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
4. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
5. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

• NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS 0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.

Grade Determinations:

• Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience 9 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
• 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.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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.

Preferred Experience: Experience working with active duty service members; Knowledge of VA services and benefits, Ability to work independently.
References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39. The full performance level of this position is a GS-12.
Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. The Social Worker must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasional moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodations, if necessary. Without endangering the health and safety of the Social Worker and others.

Position requires walking throughout the clinic and/or medical center, standing for extended periods of time, and involved sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans, Service Members, and interdisciplinary teams. Position may require travel into the community to meet with community agencies and partners to assist and support the M2VA Program, Veterans, and Service Members.

This position also requires close visual acuity to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures,
transcribing, viewing a computer terminal, extensive reading, and repetitive motions of the wrist, hands, and fingers.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• License
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.
Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

Next steps