Clarification from the agency

The area of consideration will be referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent VA Puget Sound facility employees 2. Current permanent Agency (Department of Veterans Affairs) employees.

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Duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Assess Veterans needs for personal care services, particularly Activities of Daily Living, supervision, protection or instruction, working closely with the CSP Coordinator(s) and designee(s), to complete Veteran functional assessments and re-assessments.
• Assist other program staff in providing clinical services, completing notes and gathering/monitoring data related to the day-to-day functioning and evaluation of the program.
• Conduct initial home assessments as part of the application or reassessment process for the PCAFC. Purpose of home visits is to assess for functional and mobility needs and safety as well as to assess need for personal care services using standardized assessments.
• Assists in the day-to-day operations of the CSP specific to area of assignment and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility and VA Central Office CSP initiatives.
• Participates in face-to-face or virtual contact with caregiver and Veteran to assess function and need for personal care services and as needed, the development and application of directed clinical treatment interventions.
• Utilizes and assists in maintaining a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program and helps in collecting and analyzing local data for reports for: local management, VISN CSP Leads, CEATs, the National CSP, Care Management and Social Work and Office of Patient Care Services. Evaluates program progress and outcomes and utilizes data to continuously modify and improve the program, processes and use of a standardized assessment instrument.
• Functions in support of caregivers, Veterans and family members throughout the facility and community. Complies with and supports any ongoing monitoring efforts of the standardized assessment instrument by VA. Complies with requirements of extensive Talent Management System training, bi-annual re-training and any ongoing inter-rater reliability and/or peer reviews as determined by policy or national program office guidance.
• Knows and understands services and benefits available for caregivers from both federal, state and private sector resources and statutes, regulations and policies that govern the program. Stays abreast of current legislation directed at assisting caregivers to continue to provide caregiving in an environment that is safe for both themselves and the Veteran.
• Complies with Service Line documentation requirements, including standards for timely completion of notes, use of required documentation templates and risk assessment protocols.
• Adheres to all VAPSHCS and Service Line policies and practices for delivering clinical care, including but not limited to risk assessment and reduction practices for potentially dangerous behavior (suicide and violence), timeliness of care and access and professional conduct requirements.
• Maintains level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of assignment and Social Work, The Joint Commission and VA standards.
• Establishes and maintains ongoing education programs for caregivers, community agencies and staff to facilitate understanding of the CSP and the CSP interests. Serves on committees, work groups and task forces at facility, VISN and national level or in community which support caregiver issues and needs.
• Assists with coordination of events and programs for annual National Family Caregivers Month every November, CSP Summit and other CSP supported activities.
• Collaborates with and contributes knowledge to a community of practice with the CSP and profession.
• Maintains a knowledge base of current theory and treatment modalities by reading professional journals, attending conferences, clinic seminars and teleconferences and through materials distributed via VA and private sector sources.
• Actively participates in CSP conference calls and other relevant conference calls and/or meetings as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday Thru Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station: Not Authorized
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
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Functional Statement #: 000000
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.
• 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. 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.
• Must have an unrestricted State Driver's License.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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: Individuals assigned as senior social worker must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
  • 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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:

Senior Social Worker, GS-12

Experience/Education: Senior social worker 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.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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.

Assignment: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve 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. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12.

Physical Requirements: This work requires moderate lifting, 15-45lbs., moderate carrying, 15-44lbs., pushing, operation of the motor vehicle, ability to distinguish basic colors and hearing (aid may be permitted). Environmental Factors include: outside and inside, working closely with others and 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.