• Conduct assessment interviews, develops treatment plans, and provides treatment to HUD VASH eligible Veterans and their families. Treatment modalities may include crisis intervention, intake evaluations, outreach services as well as empirically based
  treatment for family, couples, and mental health conditions.
• Provide on-going substance use case management and early treatment interventions to promote sustained stability and harm reduction while in HUD VASH subsidized permanent housing.
• Develop appropriate professional relationships with the Veterans and meet the Veteran where they are ready to engage in treatment.
• Develop liaison relationships with more acute treatment providers/ programs, such as an Intensive Outpatient Program.
• Provide appropriate group and individual case management and treatment.
• Responsible for providing HUD-VASH case management to Veterans and families in the HUD-VASH program. Case management is defined as the provision of services by VA clinical staff to homeless Veterans and includes all activities to provide appropriate treatment and maintain Veterans in stable housing.
• Perform regular home visits of HUD-VASH participants to ensure that Veterans reside in environments that foster independence and safety in the community.
• Provide SUD support to the HUD-VASH team as a functional member of this team, to include consultation, interventions, or accompanying other case managers on home visits, when indicated by suspicion of HUD-VASH participant SUD use.
• Responsible for reviewing agreements between landlords, Public Housing Authorities, and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements. She/He works closely with resident managers and the project management teams assigned to the project-based facility and communicates needs or issues when they arise if the Veteran provides consent to release private information.
• Document in the patient's medical record in accordance with medical center
  policies, and the requirements of Joint Commission. This may include a discipline specific screening and/or development of a biopsychosocial assessment and treatment plan within the time frame outlined in the HUD-VASH Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Progress notes are written in the timeframe outlined in the Documentation SOP and reflect progress toward treatment goals.
• Document professional practice interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing CPRS (Computerized Patient Record System) and ensures appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care. Outcomes of interventions are evaluated and documented in CPRS. The Social Worker must be able to utilize the team Whiteboard and HOMES data including the various operations reports
  within HOMES.
• Participate in committee assignments as deemed necessary by the supervisor. The Social Worker maintains familiarity and responsibility for all performance measures relating to the HUD-VASH Program. The Social Worker must strive to meet the individual productivity targets set by the supervisor.

TRAVEL REQUIRED: Occasional by car to travel to Veterans homes and or in the community to assist Veterans with housing as needed and also to conduct site visit of contract agencies.

Work Schedule: Full Time, 40 hours a week Monday to Friday 8:00AM to 4:30PM
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Authorized ad-hoc after first 90 days of employment.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #:Social Worker/000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Must be able to operate a Government furnished vehicle for the purposes of assisting Veterans with obtaining and maintaining housing.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.

Qualifications

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.
• [Transcripts must be submitted at time of application. Conferral of degree(s) must be stated on transcript(s). Unofficial transcripts(s) are acceptable].
• 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/. [COPIES OF LICENSE/CERTIFICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION PACKET]

Grandfathering Provision: 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).

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.

Preferred Experience: Holds an Independent license

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-09

Experience and Licensure. None above the basic qualifications

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 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, 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.

References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Work Qualification Standard, GS-0185, Veterans Health Administration.

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). Frequent travel into the community is required for this position.

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.

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

• License
• Resume
• Transcript

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to 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