Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Incumbent functions as the Tribal Case Manager for Mann-Grandstaff VAMC's Housing and Urban Development vouchers assigned to local tribes. Duties will include:

• Program Administration and Organization
  • Implements and maintains referral and screening procedures for potential Homeless Program Veteran participants that meet national policy as well as the needs of medical center behavioral health services. Referral, screening, and admission criteria recognizes program eligibility, prioritization of subsets of the homeless Veteran population, and other policy, regulation, or law pertaining to program administration. Incumbent is responsible for ensuring criteria and procedures are maintained. Provides primary input for program participant selection based on structured interviews and clinical assessments.
  • Provides input to the Homeless Section Chief for program development, monitoring, administration and determining the effectiveness of all Homeless Programs.
  • Often acts as an ambassador for the VA as they are often the first contact the Veteran or the community has with the organization.
  • Provides services in serious, complex, and complicated cases, often referred by other workers and interdisciplinary team members. Carries full responsibility for cases presenting a wide range of psychosocial and environmental problems.
  • Works closely with the VA medical center's homeless programs, residential and community care programs, to ensure that coordination between these entities is facilitated and Veteran's direct care, referral, and follow up is contiguous and based on a continuum of services.
• Clinical Assessment
  • As part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment, the incumbent interviews the Veteran and/or their family members to establish facts about the Veteran's situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veteran's functioning and health.
  • Evaluates each Veteran's situation, abilities, and capabilities, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion including an assessment of vulnerability and priority for admission.
  • Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary plan, involving the Veteran and family or significant others, and performs a thorough assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness which may also include catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, traumatic brain injuries, or other high risks diagnoses.
  • Reviews all data, subjective and objective and makes a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths. Based on the psychosocial assessment, the incumbent uses professional judgment and practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis.
• Comprehensive Case Management
  • The incumbent is responsible for providing case management for a complex caseload of chronically homeless Veterans (who must also be an enrolled member of a federally recognized Tribe) in the HUD-VASH programs in rural and remote regions of Eastern Washington, often on reservations.
  • Incumbent coordinates specialized provision of services not only for Veterans but also for Veterans' spouses, children, and family systems. This role differs from traditional HUD-VASH case management in that Veteran family cases are complex, involve multiple causes of impairment at different levels, involve multiple systems in the community (legal, medical, occupational, social, educational, etc.) and require extensive knowledge of and collaboration with tribal resources-both those that serve Veterans and those that serve women, children, and families.
• Outreach
  • The incumbent provides direct outreach services to areas where people experiencing homelessness congregate; including the street, remote campsites, and homeless camps under the freeway, most of which are often not suitable for human habitation.
  • Some overnight travel to rural and remote areas in all types of weather is required to contact Veterans and their family members.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact VHAEDRPProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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 examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Must possess a valid driver's license and be cleared to drive a government vehicle.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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. PLEASE NOTE: A COPY OF YOUR TRANSCRIPTS WITH CONFERRAL DATE IS REQUIRED WITH YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE.
• 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/. PLEASE NOTE: A COPY OF YOUR CURRENT, UNEXPIRED LICENSE IS REQUIRED WITH YOURAPPLICATION PACKAGE.
  • 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.

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:
GS-12 Senior Social Worker
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.

Preferred Experience: Experience working with people experiencing homelessness, experience working with Tribal members.

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: light to moderate lifting and carrying (up to 44 pounds), operation of a motor vehicle, use of computer and computer screen, hearing (aid may be permitted), exposure to outside and inside, slippery or uneven walking surfaces, working closely with others, working alone.

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.