This position is located within VA Maryland Health Care System in Perry Point, MD. The Social Worker Associate helps to enable patients and their families to function at their fullest potential, and to enhance their quality of life through the development of personal, familial, social, medical, economic resources and facilitates linkage between patient and family with VA and community support systems which allows patients to remain in their homes.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Identifies appropriate community and VA resources, and facilitate utilization of these resources by the Veteran, families, and non-patients; Assists Veteran patients with use of video technology; Triages mental health crises; Assists patients and families by providing counseling and/or appropriate referrals, with problems that are tangible and overt in nature i.e., inability to meet mortgage payments, and employment problems; Assist patients and families by counseling and/or making appropriate referrals, with problems that are intangible in nature i.e., marital conflict, family dysfunction, chronic mental illness and substance use disorders; Provides on-going supportive counseling to patients to maximize their coping and adjustment, to illness, injury, treatment, living demands, one by-product of which is to avoid or forestall readmission to the medical center; Assists our Veteran patients in understanding medical protocol and VA benefits; Identifies unmet needs within the community and assist in developing these needed resources; Represents Service assigned and the Medical Continuum (as assigned) on committees/task forces which address program development and program maintenance, direct service, education, or matters of an administrative nature; Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday from 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

GS-8: To qualify for this position, applicant(s) must possess all of the following qualifications: ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. -AND- BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcript with your application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. -AND- SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least two years of experience as a social welfare worker or social work assistant in a voluntary, public, social, or health agency that is equivalent to the next lower grade in the Federal service. At least one year of this experience must have been in a medical setting. Examples of specialized experience would typically include: providing assistance and service support as prescribed by social workers in conjunction with patients' treatment plans; interviewing patients; handling referrals to social and health facilities; obtaining and compiling data; organizing mental health and medical treatment needs; and assisting with local, state or federal benefits and referrals for food, shelter, transportation, etc. NOTE: Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Attention to DetailCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Oral CommunicationPatient CareTeamwork IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: Must be physically and mentally able to perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of position, usable vision, color vision, hearing, or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant for appointment. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation may also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. Reasonable accommodation may include but is not limited to: the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules. 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

IMPORTANT: 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 Maryland Health Care System 10 North Greene Street Baltimore, MD 21201 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]