The Health Care for Homeless Veterans and Contract Emergency Residential Services Liaison located at the San Francisco VA Health Care System in San Francisco identifies and engages Veterans who are homeless, marginally housed, and/or who underutilize VA services. The incumbent provides Veterans with a range of social work services, including assessment and referrals, clinical treatment, short-term case management, advocacy and service coordination, and linkage with VA and community services. Basic Requirements: 1. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 2. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 3. Education: Candidates must 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. 4. 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/. 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 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. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39, Dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking, talking, driving, use of the telephone, etc. Strenuous physical activity is not required although the incumbent is expected to withstand pressure and stress as part of their daily activities. Light lifting and carrying - under 15 pounds. Hearing aid permitted as needed. ["This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until filled or September 30, 2024. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications is 15 days from announcement open date. Eligible applications received after that date will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The incumbent provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. Major duties include but are not limited to the following: Screening/Assessment: Demonstrates the ability to independently conduct a psychosocial assessment with a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting: Possesses knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e., acute, chronic and traumatic injuries/illnesses, common medications and side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. Counseling / Therapeutic Interventions: Skilled in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with this specialized population who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. including individual, group and or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and or case management. Case Management / Care Coordination: Provides case management and care coordination to facilitate appropriate delivery of health care services, incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veterans, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Referrals / Linkage Services: Serves as subject matter expert regarding VA and/or community resources. Advocacy: Acts as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver. Program Coordination: Demonstrate knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Consultation/Training: Provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in this service delivery area as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Administrative responsibilities: 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 and participates in various program and Social Work Service administrative and clinical meetings. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am to 4:30pm. (Tour of Duty to be determined upon hire) Telework: Partial Telework possible, dependent upon program needs. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000/Social Worker Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
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.
