Summary

The incumbent serves as a Senior Social Worker for the Veterans Justice Programs (VJP) located within the Homeless Programs - Mental Health Service at Dayton VA Medical Center. This is a Hybrid position that includes Healthcare for Re-Entry (HCRV) Veterans in the Veterans Justice Outreach(VJO) Program. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

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
• 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
• English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3j - this part
• 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:(a) 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.(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c) 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.(d) 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.(e) 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
• Physical Requirements: Work is primarily performed in an office setting located at the Dayton VA Medical Center
• Work is mostly sedentary
• however - the incumbent must follow appropriate safety procedures as there will be some periods of walking and may involve light lifting - turning - or moving hands - arms - feet - and legs to operate hand and foot controls
• The position requires the use of office equipment such as computers - keyboards - telephones - fax machines - and photocopy machines
• Visual acuity - keen hearing - clear distinctive speech - and manual dexterity are required
• The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium - dementia - or psychiatric disorders
• The incumbent must be a mature - flexible - sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations - able to shift priorities based on patient needs
• May be exposed to infected patients and/or contaminated materials and will be required to take appropriate safety and protective measures
• Driving Responsibilities: This position requires operation of a government-owned or leased motor vehicle to properly carry out assigned duties
• A valid state-issued driver license is required - along with medical clearance by Personnel Health
• Incumbent must complete all facility requirements to drive a GSA Vehicle and transport Veterans
• Instructions are received from the dispatcher or supervisor on the type of vehicle to be operated - destination - passengers to be transported - purpose of the trip - deadlines to be met - and any special information
• The driver is responsible for the safe transport of passengers throughout the trip - including the safe loading and unloading of the patient on/ off the vehicle
• Driving proficiency is assessed in terms of safe and expeditious completion of the assigned job
• Trip tickets are examined for compliance with regulations and for completeness
• Practices defensive driving - exercises emergency privileges properly - prevents accidents
• engages in safe driving practices - knows and uses proper operating speeds
• knows importance of gentle driving - starting and stopping
• knows the relationship of speed to "reaction distance -" braking distance - and stopping distance
• makes proper use of lights and sirens
• Responsible for making all accident reports required by VA and State Motor Vehicle for submission through channels to the Safety Office.

Duties

• Duties: The incumbent of this position serves as a VJP Program Specialist for providing an array of services including: 1) Outreach
• 2) Treatment matching assessment of incarcerated Veterans and post release clinical assessments
• 3) Education and 4) Case Management services
• The Senior Social Worker in this position requires an advanced level of of knowledge and understanding of the services and benefits available from community - State and Federal agencies - and has specialized knowledge of practice typically related to a diagnosis or population
• The Senior Social Worker must have skill in diplomacy - patient advocacy - ad negotiation in spanning boundaries of multiple large institutions - including VA - the courts - and/or corrections
• The position requires knowledge of correctional cultures and their impact upon Veteran - institutional - and community perceptions and behavior - as well as skill in assisting Veterans to adopt behaviors adaptive to community living
• The incumbent will provide outreach - case management - deflection and treatment services to a highly complex and high-risk population in contact with the justice system - including those in contact with local police - those served by the courts - and those detained in secured - federal - state and city or county jail facilities
• The incumbent manages the daily operations in designated program areas - that may include re-entry services and/or liaison to Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) in a designated service area - participates in development of policies and procedures for program operation - and prepares reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and National use
• The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to these programs regarding day-to-day functioning and program evaluation
• The incumbent also is instrumental in the development of policies and procedures related to outreach and case management services to justice involved Veterans
• The incumbent develops and expands case management services to justice-involved Veterans
• The incumbent develops and expands contacts with various county - state - and federal agencies and other external re-entry partners - such as county re-entry task forces and social service agencies
• The incumbent is a regional Point-of-Contact (POC) for the reentry program for VISN 10
• The position involves driving a government vehicle and the VJP Specialist must have a valid state issued driver's license
• Additionally - a current BLS certificate is required
• Other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm 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) Functional Statement #: 93263-0