Summary

The Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Social Worker located in the Primary Care Clinic areas provides medical Social Work services to the Veteran population enrolled at the Orlando VA Healthcare System. Services include provision of high-quality case management - clinical treatment - advocacy - and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers and/or agencies as needed by the Veteran and/or caregiver.

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: 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
• Licensure: 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/
• (NOTE: For those who have a Florida LCSW license - you must be registered with the state as a "Qualified Supervisor" in order to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certification
• All others must meet the requirements of their state of licensure to be able to provide supervision for licensure.) Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification
• For additional information - please visit Membership - CPTSPR
• English Language: Must be proficient in spoken and written English 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)
• All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title - series and grade held - including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation
• For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard - but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it - the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification - may be reassigned - promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level - or changed to lower grade within the occupation - but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions
• Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed - on a temporary or permanent basis - until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation - who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation
• If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401 (3) under this provision leaves that occupation - the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation
• Grade Determinations: Social Worker - GS-9 Experience - Education - and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements
• 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
• 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
• Preferred Experience: Those applicants with experience in the below - are highly preferred
• Experience in performing assessments - treatment planning - carecoordination - crisis intervention - and advocacy
• Able to work independently providing psychosocial support to client populations with highly complex health and/or mental health problems and the provision of short-term - solution focused counseling with clients and/or their families
• Experience in locating and obtaining community resources and assisting with linkage to appropriate referrals
• 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-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11
• Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort - such as that involved in lifting light files - bending - standing - reaching - operating office equipment such as telephone - copier - fax machine - scanner - etc
• The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers
• moderate walking and standing
• near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4
• far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other
• hearing aid permitted
• clear speech
• emotional stability
• moderate duty.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Some of the duties include - but are not limited to
• Will develop an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment teams - the Veteran - family members - and significant others
• Responsible for developing a treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family
• Ability to provide current and advanced techniques to the treatment of the Veteran population
• Independently providing psychosocial support to a special Veteran population with highly complex health and/or mental health problems and the provision of short-term - solution focused counseling with Veterans and/or their families
• Demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients including geriatric patients related to their physical limitations - psychological needs and age associated illnesses and conditions
• Will provide a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work - Measurement Base Care - individual - family and group counseling - discharge planning - case management and other services as appropriate
• Provides education related to VA and community resources - entitlements - Advance Directives/Living Will and will refer Veterans/families to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs
• Responsible for assisting the Veteran/family in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the Veteran's preference or that of his/her surrogate decision-maker
• Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for Veterans within the VA and community
• Coordinate treatment and communicate with other social workers and community program coordinators to include NIC - CNH - and TCM - Behavioral Health Programs - Homeless Program - Suicide Prevention etc. - to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans
• Will attend all appropriate staff meetings - PACT Huddles and perform other duties as required
• Will collaborate in the performance improvement processes and comply with performance measures as required by the VA for their specific population and/or program
• Will actively contribute to the success of local organizational goals within PACT and will participate in activities that obtain feedback from Veterans and/or caregivers and work to enhance services as needed
• Other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8:30am to 5pm
• However - the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis - based on the needs of the service and patient care
• Recruitment Incentive (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) 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: Not available
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: Social Worker - Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) GS-9/11 81740F/81764F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.