Summary

The incumbent will serve as a HUD-VASH Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Social Worker in Social Work Service (SWS) located in Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS). HUD­VASH is an intensive case management program for chronically homeless veterans aimed at providing psychosocial services to veterans while residing in stable housing through HUD's Section 8 voucher system.

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 tohttp://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/
• Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified - social workers must maintain a full - valid - and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment
• Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services
• 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 and 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 - the candidate 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
• Preferred Experience: 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 Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities - and treatment procedures
• This includes acute - chronic - and traumatic illnesses/injuries
• common medications and their effects/side effects
• and medical terminology
• 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
• 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
• Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary
• Some work may require movement between offices - hospitals - warehouses - and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work
• Work may also require walking/standing - in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site
• Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties include - but are not limited to: - Provides direct SUD services for HUD-VASH Veterans within the medical center and the community
• - Provides assessment and treatment to high-risk Veterans who are using substances and provides support and aftercare to Veterans who have achieved sobriety
• - Develops comprehensive treatment plans with the Veteran that address the factors that contributed to homelessness - including SUD and other co-occurring factors within a recovery model framework
• - Provides 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/confirmed HUD-VASH participant substance use
• - Provides training for other members of the multidisciplinary treatment team in areas related to SUD assessment - anger management - life skills - and SUD with co-occurring disorders
• - Serves as a lead to provide clinical guidance around Substance Use Disorders to less experienced GS-11 social workers on assigned team
• Guides discussions on appropriate acuity levels for Veterans based on presenting issues and strategies with team members on ways to manage challenging patients
• - Serves as a Care Coordination and Intensive Case Management Lead Coordinator for Veterans within the HUD-VASH Program who require complex care coordination
• - Provides liaison services with other programs referring to homeless Veterans with Substance Use Disorders to HUD-VASH to ensure continuity of care and promote successful transition of Veterans from one program to another
• - Follows CTVHCS standard operating procedures for evaluating and mitigating suicide risk to include completing the Columbia Suicide Severity Risk Scale (C­SSRS) - the Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation - and a Safety Plan via shared template in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) on all patients at intake - with Veterans with suicidal ideation and on any Veteran whose record is flagged \"High Risk for Suicide.\" Additionally - completes the Suicide Behavior and Overdose Report (SBOR) as clinically indicated
• - Practices group psychotherapy with Veterans who have Substance Abuse Disorders and utilizes time limited individual evidence based therapeutic techniques (such as Motivational Interviewing - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) as needed with assigned Veterans
• - Conducts an intake assessment with Veterans referred to the HUD-VASH program including a comprehensive psychosocial assessment with multi-axial diagnostic evaluation to determine the needs of veterans and family members as well as the acuity level of Veteran
• Additionally - completing a HOMES assessment - referral - and program entry
• - Educates the Veteran and his or her family about the process of obtaining a HUDVASH voucher with the local housing authority and assisting the Veteran and/or his/her family with navigating this process and selecting a unit for housing
• Helping Veterans obtain all necessary documentation required by the PHA for voucher assistance
• - Provides housing search assistance to Veterans in HUD-VASH - including choices from an array of housing within the Veteran's preferred community
• - Reviews agreements between Section 8 - landlords - Public Housing Authorities - and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements
• - Provides transportation to Veterans in the HUD-VASH program as needed to assist with obtaining or maintaining permanent housing
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8am - 430pm EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact VISN17EDRP2@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• 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: Ad-Hoc only Functional Statement #:55863-F