This Social Worker (Respite Champion Coordinator) position is in the Caregiver Support Program (CSP) in Social Work Service at the Boston VA Healthcare System, located at the Brockton VA Medical Center location. This position is a full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

The Caregiver Support Program (CSP) is one of the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) most rapidly growing service areas, as a result of infrastructure modernization, programming innovation, and expansion of population-served by the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) under MISSION Act. CSP expansion puts the VHA out front of the healthcare industry as a healthcare system pioneer-caring for the caregiver. The Caregiver Support Program is situated at VA Central Office within the Office of Patient Care Services (PCS); operationalized within 18 Veteran Integrated Service System Networks (VISNs); and administered by more than 1,980 field staff, who provide the direct interventions to the program eligible caregivers. Coordinator will become a subject matter expert (SME) and champion in respite overall, including the benefits of respite for caregivers, respite resources and respite funding. Coordinator will become expert in understanding the respite benefits under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) and the Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS) and will be responsible for training one CSP Staff member at every medical center within VISN 1 to become a respite SME. Duties for the position include but are not limited to: Responsible for monitoring the CSP respite costs, among other duties. Develops policies and procedures for program operation and prepares reports and statistics for the VISN, and national use. Responsible for assisting with the Caregiver Support Program VISN 1 respite budget and various control points assigned to the program within the assigned areas. Manages and controls the use of data related to these programs regarding day to day functioning and program evaluation. Plans, organizes and directs administrative, operational, caregiver, Veteran and personnel activities for the program. Conducts caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress and social needs as treatment issues. Provides referrals or consults of a Veteran to other VA programs including but not limited to the Community Residential Care Program, Respite Program, Community Health Care Coordination Program, Hospice, Home Based Primary Care, Telehealth and Community Nursing Home Program. Collaborate with the Office of Community Care, Geriatrics and Extended care for the purpose of establishing standardized respite protocols at VA BHS and at medical centers with the VISN 1 Caregiver Support Program. Other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Authorized. Telework: Authorized. Telework Ad-Hoc can be performed on an as needed basis anywhere other than a VA facility or using VA-leased space (i.e., home) when authorized by the supervisor. Travel: Up to 25% may be required. Relocation/Recruitment: Not authorized. EDRP Authorized: Not authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS):Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service. This position is a AFGE Bargaining Unit position. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. 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 tohttp://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grandfathering Provision: The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance journey level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Preferred Experience: LICSW, strong program developmental skills; understanding of systems and systems redesigns; experiences with geriatric population; excellent psychological assessment skills; strong communication skillset; excellent interdisciplinary collaboration skills; strong customer service skills; time management skills; strong computer and technology proficiency; experience working with Veterans and caregivers (or military families); mental health and medical case management and care coordination skill; psychological education, connection and referral skills; knowledge of VA and community resources across the adult-life spectrum. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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 Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Jessica Williams
• Phone: 740-542-1218
• Email: [email protected]