Senior Social Worker - Housing and Urban Development - Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing

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.

01Basic Requirements

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

02Education

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.

03Licensure

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).

04Grade 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.

05Preferred Experience

Experience working with individuals experiencing homelessness. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. This vacancy is being announced above the full performance level at a GS-12.

06Physical Requirements

Position is primarily sitting and standing but does requires some bending, pulling, lifting up to 25lbs. The incumbent must possess and maintain a current, valid state driver's license.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties and skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to: The incumbent will work within the HUD-VASH program as a HUD-VASH social work Senior Social Worker. The incumbent will act as a consultant for HUD-VASH social workers who serve Veterans with complex mental health, medical, co-morbid disorders or who display increased risk for mild to moderate disruptive behavior.

The incumbent is also responsible for providing case management for a caseload of veterans in the HUD-VASH program, some of whom may be at elevated risk for suicidal thoughts or behavior. The incumbent will be expected to remain informed of best practices within the fields of mental health and recovery. The incumbent may be asked to provide trainings to staff related to coding, CPRS documentation and best practices within the field.

The incumbent may accompany GS-9 and GS-11 social workers on home or community visits when Veteran has a complex presentation. The incumbent will model the advanced level of practice and provide consultation to less experienced social workers. The Senior Social worker will be assigned and independently manage more complex Veterans within their program area.

This will be determined based on the Veteran's acuity, severity of condition, diagnosis or other programmatic guidelines as defined within the section they report to. The senior social worker will function as the subject matter expert in addition to functioning as a lead social worker for their assigned team.

The senior social worker will perform at least one or more of the following; process improvement tasks, supervision of social workers for advanced practice licensure or the graduate trainee program, act as a mentor for less experienced social workers, participate or chair committees or groups that impact social work practice and/or lead roll out of evidence-based practices.

The Senior Social Worker may be expected to act as surrogate to the Social Work Supervisor, for CPRS purposes, cosigning notes/consults/orders and providing clinical guidance when appropriate or necessary. 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 may transport veterans in government vehicles in support of meeting the goals identified in the veteran's recovery plan. The employee will adhere to the requirements and guidance offered in ECHCS Policy 00-104, "Transporting Patients in Government Vehicles." Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized 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: Available for Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 554-57895-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized