Senior Social Worker

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Major duties: VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional .Duties include, however, not limited to: Assist in the daily operation and administration of the Caregiver Support Program (CSP), ensuring compliance with local facility, VISN, and VA Central Office policies, initiatives, and program requirements. Collaborate with interdisciplinary CSP team members to provide comprehensive services that promote equitable access to care, resources, benefits, and support for Veterans and caregivers. Develop, coordinate, facilitate, and evaluate caregiver support groups, educational programs, and caregiver-focused training activities. Assess caregiver burden, stress, and support needs through direct contact with caregivers and Veterans and implement appropriate clinical interventions and treatment strategies. Provide individual and family-centered interventions addressing caregiver stress, emotional distress, psychiatric concerns, social needs, and caregiver wellness. Conduct home visits for Veterans and caregivers participating in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) and complete required assessments and documentation. Respond to inquiries from the National Caregiver Support Line and other communication channels regarding caregiver services, eligibility, and resources. Advise and collaborate with interdisciplinary clinical teams regarding caregiver issues, support services, and care planning needs. Develop educational materials, resources, and training programs tailored to caregiver populations and specific Veteran care needs. Provide education and consultation to employees, Veterans, families, caregivers, and community stakeholders regarding caregiver support services and resources. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with Veterans, caregivers, community partners, federal and state agencies, Veteran Service Organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Coordinate referrals to VA and community-based medical, mental health, social service, benefits, entitlement, and support programs. Facilitate referrals, consultations, and admissions to specialized VA programs, including Community Residential Care, Respite Care, Hospice, Home-Based Primary Care, Telehealth, Community Health Care Coordination, and Community Nursing Home programs. Serve as a resource and consultant to caregivers, Veterans, and families in navigating complex VA, governmental, and community systems. Act as a liaison between VA programs and community agencies to strengthen partnerships, improve system navigation, and coordinate services. Assist with the planning, coordination, promotion, and implementation of National Family Caregivers Month activities, including educational events, caregiver recognition programs, outreach activities, and awareness campaigns. Support program leadership in developing, maintaining, monitoring, and evaluating program performance measures and data collection systems. Collect, analyze, interpret, and report caregiver program data to local leadership, VISN leadership, and national program offices. Evaluate program effectiveness and outcomes and recommend process improvements and program enhancements based on data analysis and identified trends. Conduct outreach presentations and educational sessions for community agencies, military organizations, Veteran Service Organizations, and other stakeholder groups regarding VA caregiver benefits, programs, and services. Maintain knowledge of VA medical center programs, community resources, and national caregiver support initiatives. Collaborate with Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT), mental health providers, geriatric care teams, and social work staff to address caregiver issues and provide caregiver-focused education and support. Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned in support of Veterans, caregivers, families, and organizational objectives. Work Schedule: : 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Lakita Bush @ lakita.bush@va.gov,, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:63617F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized 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. NOTE: You must submit transcripts (unofficial is sufficient) AND a license with your application. 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. 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). Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for 10 clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. 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-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.