This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

This position is responsible for providing services to Veterans referred to the Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) clinic. Location at Adam Benjamin Jr CBOC (ABJ), Crown Point, IN. This professional Social Worker is responsible to provide a variety of services for Veterans referred from the Primary Care Clinics including psychosocial assessments, treatment planning, short-term, solution focused counseling with individuals and families who may be in crisis, education and referral for resources and benefits, case management and post-intervention follow-up. Responsibilities will also include consultation/education to Medical Center staff and service providers, the collection and maintenance of statistical data, program planning evaluation and modification, and the supervision of students as assigned. This position will require the incumbent to use advanced clinical skills and knowledge due to the psychiatric nature of cases presented and the independent functioning required of the position. The incumbent is responsible for completing the following duties/responsibilities: -The incumbent will conduct biopsychosocial assessments to determine needs of veterans and family members referred from either the outpatient medical primary care clinics, specialty medical clinics or PAC. -The incumbent will participate in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate. -The incumbent will provide consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits. -The incumbent will act as a consultant to other team/staff members. -The incumbent will provide consultation/education to psychiatric residents on social work practice and VA policy and procedure. -The incumbent will act as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed. -The incumbent will provide a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual and family counseling, discharge planning and other services as appropriate. -The incumbent will address Advance Directives and Organ Donation in accordance with the standards of their work area. -The incumbent will as appropriate, supervise the practice of social work students, or a less experienced social worker. -The incumbent will coordinate treatment and communicate with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for veterans. -The incumbent will maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with JCAHO, VA and medical center policy and procedures. -The incumbent will assist patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness and death. -The incumbent will document social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care. Required: LSW Preferred: LCSW, Mental Health experience Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Telework: Available as Adhoc based on clinic needs Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Requirements

Qualifications

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). Basic Requirements: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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 to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non- VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c. OR Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. (c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. References: September 10, 2019 VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is a GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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 Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Valerie Kelly
• Phone: 773-946-3802
• Email: [email protected]