Social Worker - Mental Health

This Social Worker position is assigned to the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Team under Mental Health, providing community-based clinical psychosocial and case management services for chronically homeless Veterans and their families.

The role works closely with VA homeless, residential, and domiciliary programs to ensure continuous, coordinated care, and requires travel to meet with Veterans, community agencies, and partners supporting the Syracuse VAMC and its Veterans and caregivers.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties assigned but not limited to: Provides intensive case management services to assigned Veterans and significant others, consistent with the goals and methods of the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program Maintains frequent direct contact with Veterans to provide therapy and support aimed at maintaining housing, increasing contact during times of crisis, and strengthening Veterans' ability to independently address acute and chronic problems Delivers care within the framework established by National HUD-VASH Directives Collaborates and consults with interdisciplinary treatment teams to promote and enhance Veteran care Provides individual, family, and group psychotherapy as applicable Maintains strong working relationships with community agencies, including reviewing agreements between Section 8, landlords, and Public Housing Authorities Establishes and maintains appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements Conducts site visits of HUD-VASH apartments to ensure Veterans reside in safe environments compliant with local housing codes Completes psychosocial assessments, initial and updated treatment plans, and discharge summaries as clinically indicated Collects and submits HUD-VASH program participant data as outlined by the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) Stays current on National HUD-VASH directives by participating in conference calls and attending HUD-VASH Team trainings Follows all local policies and procedures, including documentation requirements for CARF and Joint Commission accreditation Participates in program planning and development; advises supervisor on caseload trends; identifies needs for procedure or policy changes and makes recommendations Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds Evaluates own practice through professional peer review, case conferences, and other organizational means Documents social work interventions and activities in the patient's clinical record and ensures appropriate hand-off when transferring patient care Provides consultation to other staff regarding Veterans' psychosocial needs and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and treatment adherence Coordinates treatment and communicates with other services to facilitate Veteran care Maintains general knowledge of Veterans' benefits and services, including special programs, service-connected compensation, and non-service-connected pension Facilitates referrals based on Veteran needs and eligibility Participates in committee assignments, discipline-specific meetings, and initiatives as deemed necessary by the service manager Participates in a rotation of on-call social workers, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on weekends Performs other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized.

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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 #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

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 to http://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/.

Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified.

At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.

(a) For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker.

Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam, and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam.

In states such as California, Washington, and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years, social workers must become licensed at the independent, master's level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure.

(b) A social worker who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record.

(c) Different states have different levels of licensure or certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/.

The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work. The ASWB offers three examinations.

The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification, while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification.

Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Social Worker, GS-9: Experience, Education, and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements.

AND, Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.

Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.

Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. Fundamental 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.

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 nonVA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.

OR, Education: 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.

AND, Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.

Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.

Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. Fundamental 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 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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services