The Social Services Assistant (SSA) is an active member of the Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH). The SSA performs a wide range of tasks to assist Veterans of all ages, from young to adult to old age, in regaining independence within the community and housing stabilization.

Duties

Assist Veterans in working with their case manager or treatment team in determining the steps he/she needs to take in order to achieve housing and community living stabilization. Assist Veterans with the provision and coordination of concrete services including housing search, financial planning, referrals to community agencies, transportation and supportive contact. Assist the veteran in obtaining decent and affordable housing of his/her choice in the most integrated, independent, and least intrusive or restrictive environment by taking them out to view housing, either driving them or riding with them on public transportation. With periodic assistance of higher graded treatment team members, utilizes and teaches problem solving techniques with individuals and groups; discussions will be utilized where Veterans will share common problems in daily living and methods they have employed to manage and cope with these problems. Support Veterans' healthy housing, leisure, vocational and lifestyle choices and assist them in matching their strengths and preferences to overcoming anxiety surrounding these choices. Assist Veterans in building social skills in the community that will enhance housing and community stabilization. Serve as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for any effective services that will aid the Veteran in daily living Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm or 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Upon supervisory approval Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Social Services Assistant/PD034900 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/15/2023. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience GS-5: Includes, but not limited to: Assisting customer/patient in conjunction with treatment team to complete steps to achieve housing and community living stabilization; Assisting Veterans in providing and coordination of concrete services including transportation, food, referrals to community agency, and financial planning; Assisting the Veteran in obtaining services by referral and connection to community resources or groups to support community stabilization; and in conjunction with the HUDVASH case manager, working with the Veterans to develop a treatment plan based on Veteran's strengths, needs, abilities and goals. or Education for GS-5: Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree that (a) included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of subjects directly related to the work of the position; (b) included a major in social behavior, human behavior, or health care or; (c) was supplemented by specialized experience as described above. If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience) or if the position requires a college education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application. OR, You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCustomer ServiceInterpersonal SkillsOperating SystemsOrganizational Awareness 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee will sit to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of items such as books, papers, groceries, household goods, etc; accessing transportation and driving a government car or van. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System 2200 SW Gage Blvd Topeka, KS 66622 US
• Name: Alex Blythe
• Phone: 6195591425
• Email: [email protected]