Clarification from the agency

Current, permanent employees of Veterans Health Administration may apply. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The incumbent provides program oversight and case management/liaison for GPD Program sites as described in the Homeless GPD program rules, regulations, and directives. The incumbent utilizes various treatment modalities (including individual and group work, casework, community organization, and community outreach) and activities to address and alleviate problems that interfere with the GPD Program participants' ability to achieve independence.

The incumbent coordinates and participates in program site inspections utilizing GPD rules, regulations, and directives as guidance and forwarding completed inspection materials to the appropriate offices. When necessary, the incumbent notes inspection deficiencies, monitors corrective actions, and develops timelines for consequences that will be initiated secondary to inaction or insufficient action regarding deficiencies.

The incumbent coordinates care, including serving as an advocate on behalf of veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery, and linking and referring veterans to the VAMC, VA Regional Office, and/or relevant community agencies.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Conducts psychosocial assessments to determine needs of Veterans and family.
• Serves as an active participant in interdisciplinary treatment planning.
• Participates in interdisciplinary discharge planning and ensure that discharge plans are executed in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Provides individual, family, and group counseling as needed.
• Provides consultation and education services to Veterans and families regarding community resources, advance directives, and VA benefits.
• Acts as a consultant for interdisciplinary team members.
• Provides consultation and education to medical residents, interns, and other VAMC personnel regarding social work practice and associated VA P&P.
• Acts as a marketing and public relations liaison for VA and community resources.
• Provides case management to Veterans and families, as needed, throughout the continuum and course of care.
• Provides the full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of practice, including: case work; individual, family, and group counseling; discharge planning; case management; and other needed services.
• Addresses Advance Directives and Organ Donation in accordance with HCHV/ VAMC standards.
• Provides wellness/prevention education and associated support groups.
• Provides guidance and mentoring for social work interns/students and less experienced social workers.
• Coordinates treatment and communicate with care lines about continuity of care.
• Participates in committees as assigned.
• Maintains data and statistics to comply with Joint Commission, CARF, VA, and VAMC policies and procedures. Help as needed to prepare for associated reviews and surveys.
• Helps patients and significant others cope and deal with the psychosocial issues and the loss and grief associated with disability, terminal illness, and death.
• Documents social work interventions and activities in each patient's clinical record utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring patient care.
• Participates in a rotation of on-call social workers, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on weekends.
• Performs additional duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
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: Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
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.
• 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.

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:

• 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.
• 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).
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://department.va.gov/employees/va-qualifications-standards/

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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.