Clarification from the agency

Open to all current, permanent VISN 19 Veterans Affairs employees only.

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Duties and skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to:

A. Administrative
The Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker will track and monitor transitioning service members and Post- 9/11 era Veterans using the Care Management Tracking and Reporting Application (CMTRA) and ensure they are assigned to a case manager in CMTRA. The incumbent will make initial and follow up case management contacts with transitioning service members and Post-9/11 era Veterans in accordance with the established timeframe guidelines. Finally, they will facilitate the proper transfer of service members and Veterans from one VA health care facility to another VA health care facility through CMTRA.

B. Program Evaluation
In concurrence with their supervisor, the Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker engages in strategic planning and evaluation of the facility Post-9/11 M2VA CM Program to ensure continual quality improvement and excellence in the facilitation of health care services, case management and customer service. The incumbent develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of practice and services within the Post-9/11 M2VA CM Program, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve services. The Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker demonstrates the ability to design changes based on empirical findings.
C. Leadership and Consultation
The Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker expands clinical knowledge regarding reintegration issues of the transitioning service member and Post-9/11 era Veteran, provides ongoing specialized consultation, guidance and mentoring to colleagues, social work students, residents, interns, fellows from other disciplines and other facility staff regarding the unique psychosocial needs of Post-9/11 era transitioning service members and Veterans, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise. They role model effective social work practice skills, teach and provide orientation to less experienced social workers, develop innovations in practice interventions, and offer education in the form of in-service trainings and/or continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. The incumbent will participate in staff development activities to include serving on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services.

D. Psychosocial Assessments
The Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker performs the following:
1. Interviews transitioning service members and Post-9/11 era Veterans, and their family members/significant others when applicable, to establish facts about their presenting problems and potential causes, and the
impact of such problems as it relates to their functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment.
2. Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths.
3. Effectively demonstrates professional, advanced clinical training, insight and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options.
4. Assesses high risk factors, acuity and need for services.

E. Psychosocial Intervention
The Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker will provide specialized case management interventions to address complex physical and mental illness, and may provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy as clinically indicated, to meet the unique needs of Post-9/11 era Veterans diagnosed with serious conditions to include, but not limited to, polytrauma injuries, TBI, visual impairments, PTSD, substance use disorders and other serious conditions and/or psychosocial problems impacting daily functioning. The incumbent develops psychosocial treatment plans with input from the members of the Interdisciplinary Care Management Review Team (IDCRMT), making sure to include Veteran-centric treatment goals.

F. Coordination of Care
The Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker is responsible for screening, consultation, securing authorizations, and admission of eligible transitioning service members and Post-9/11 era Veterans to the VA Health Care System (VAHCS). They make appropriate referrals in accordance with treatment needs, identifying community resources within the VAHCS service area such as private rehabilitation centers, independent living centers, transitional housing programs and day
treatment programs. The Post-9/11 M2VA CM Senior Social Worker acts as a liaison and is required to collaborate not only with the Veteran but also family, significant others, VHA Federal Recovery Coordinators, DoD providers/service coordinators, military case managers, TRICARE care managers, community agencies and other staff as needed to effectively coordinate and manage care.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30AM - 4:00PM.
Telework: Ad-hoc.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 58473-O.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

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/.
  1. Failure to Obtain License or Certification: In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
  2. 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.
• Grandfathering Provision: The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.
  1. 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:
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS 0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.
• 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).

• 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:
    1. 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.
    2. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.