There are two positions located in the Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program (DRRTP) within the Veterans Care and Transitional Service at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX. The Domiciliary is a Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment facility which provides extended care to Veterans with complex medical, psychiatric, alcohol and drug abuse and homelessness problems.

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 primary duties of this position, Social Services Assistant, are to provide 7 day/week, 24 hr/day coverage of the facility on a rotational basis performing both nonprofessional counseling guidance and administrative duties in support of the mission of the Domiciliary. Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: Developing and maintaining a therapeutic professional helping relationship with residents admitted to the Domiciliary Providing psycho-educational groups using a guidance model and applying experience and knowledge of problems Organizing and facilitating small groups of residents for development of problem-solving skills for return to independent living in the community Providing crisis intervention in situations of medical, psychiatric and/or behavioral in nature by assessing the situation and initiating action to secure medical care or police assistance Referring ill residents to Domiciliary Nurses during the regular work week, evening, nights, weekend, and holiday shifts Monitoring compliance with treatment plan requirements, Domiciliary regulations, and sobriety requirements for abstinence from alcohol and drugs Securing clothing and valuables from lockers of deceased patients, hospitalized patients, and individuals who departed on irregular discharge without proper clearance in accordance with current Domiciliary regulations Processing and evaluating any incident involving the injury or abuse of any resident Performing regular administrative functions, e.g. makes bed assignments, prepares and processing patients for clearance, and completes entries in communication log Providing information about admissions, discharges, and transfers to Administrative Officer on Duty daily for input into the database through the bed control option Utilizing delegated authority to take action should a patient fail to return from authorized absence at the designated time, e.g. irregular discharge, unauthorized absence if patient is incompetent, or review by Domiciliary Chief Maintaining clean, safe, and healthful environment for all patients assigned to the Section Conducting at a minimum, weekly, and monthly 100% Hazardous Items room and locker inspections for health, welfare, safety, and security purposes Conducting Section Meetings for all patients in assigned Sections to communicate information, to listen to patient concerns involving the entire section, and to inform patients about changes in Domiciliary or VAMC requirements Performing other duties as assigned Work Schedule: 12 hours Shift (Days and Nights); 07:30 a.m. to 08:00 p.m. and 07:30 p.m. to 08:00 a.m., with alternating weekend Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

Minimum Requirement: The following are minimum requirements for appointment as a Social Services Assistant in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which all applicants must met. Specialized Experience (GS-07): You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (i.e., GS-06). Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs; Counselor in a youth summer camp; Instructor in a training program for the development of job skills; Work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew; Group activities leader in the Armed Services; Unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility; Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff in such fields as personnel (private or government), employment guidance in a vocational or academic institution, social service, or manpower development; Aid or assistant to professional or associate staff engaged in work of a social services nature in private, public welfare, government program, or community organizations, or in voluntary activities; and Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.) OR, Education (GS-07): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one full year of graduate education. This education must be in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position (Social Services Assistant. NOTE: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) OR, Combination (GS-07): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as describe above. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) AND 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 SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability, or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirement for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience applying broad knowledge of medical, mental/psychological dysfunctional states, psychiatric conditions, and/or alcohol and drug dependence and the rehabilitation. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Attention to DetailInterventionPsychologyVeteran and Customer Focus 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: Work is carried out mostly in an office. However, the position regularly conducts inspections and supervises building cleanup, etc. Travel among different PODS is necessary. Occasional duties require lifting, carrying 50+ lbs, sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, kneeling, bending, stooping, twisting, pulling/pushing, simple grasping, reading above shoulder. Conditions during inspections and drills may also include heat, cold, excess humidity, work with chemicals, dust, noise, driving a vehicle, and fire manipulation. 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 Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]