Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all U.S. Citizens NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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This Social Worker (Program Coordinator) position serves the Social Worker Service at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks at the Sprinfield, Missouri Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC).

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Responsible for program development, recruitment, and development of Medical Foster Homes (MFH), recruitment and placement of Veteran residents, case management, development of policies and care processes, and coordination with HBPC interdisciplinary treatment teams.
• Serves Veterans who tend to have serious, frequent and severe crises, lack of family or an adequate community support networks, lack of self-monitoring; frequently fails to comply withinstructions and treatments; have significant deficits in coping skills andrequire continuing psychosocial and medical support
• Responsible for marketing the MFH model of care and reaches out to community groups and agencies to promote the foster care program
• Interviews and conducts psychosocial assessments; interviews Veteran and family members and/or significant others to establish facts about the Veteran's unique situation; presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veteran's functioning and health as a part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment; assesses high risk factors, acuity and need for services. The social worker interprets and explains VA treatment and benefit programs
• Develops psychosocial treatment plans in collaboration with Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) interdisciplinary team, including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment
• Establishes a continuing relationship with the foster home caregiver and Veteran, and involved family members, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate
• Must be able to operate a government vehicle, so a valid state driver's license is required. If transporting Veteran patients,
  must take mandatory annual physical and driver training.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the service)
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhafavhrsbu@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).
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)
Telework: Available (Ad Hoc Only)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 564-00402-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• Must be able to independently operate Government Vehicle.
• Must provide clean driving record report from the DMV during the pre-employment process.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:
1. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
2. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
3. Education. VHA Social Worker 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.
4. 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/.

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 (Program Coordinator), GS-12
Experience and Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.
Licensure/Ceritification: Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and 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 knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs):

1. Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
2. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program
3. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
4. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
5. Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Note: KSAs must be clearly reflected in your resume under description of duties to be found qualified for this position/grade level.

Preferred Experience:

• Minimum 12 months community social work or public health social work experience in the community setting
• Minimum 12 months direct social work care experience with frail, elderly patients and their family caregivers
• Demonstrated skill in developing learning plans/ home care plans for family caregivers of adults, including the elderly to follow
• Demonstrated ability to plan, write and provide formal presentations to diverse community, professional and stakeholder groups
• Demonstrated ability to lead social work education groups for caregivers of frail, elderly, patients on specialty topics of caregiver stress, chronic illness, and end of life care

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: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for this occupation, see duty section for essential duties of this position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted heated and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once and sometimes stressful situations.

How you will be evaluated

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

Area of Consideration: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks employees, including CBOC's
2. All Other VA Employees
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies
4. All other applicants

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.