Rehabilitation Counselor (RC) in the Veterans Health Administration Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VHA VR) work with persons with diagnoses of mental health, physical, and/or psychosocial challenges causing functional limitations affecting employment, independent living, or personal adjustment. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE WITH VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION, JOB COACHING, AND DEALING WITH PATIENTS THAT HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPAIRMENTS OR DISABILITES

Duties

The incumbent serves as a Rehabilitation Counselor providing personal adjustment counseling, therapeutic rehabilitation interventions, and case coordination services. Uses evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities to aid Veterans with severe disabilities, such as physical, psychosocial, psychological, or neurological barriers, integrate successfully into the community. Serves Veterans who have myriad barriers to overcome and achieve competitive employment, educational, and independent living goals. Conducts biopsychosocial assessments using medical records, pertinent disability documentation, observation, and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate personal, vocational, and educational histories. Selects, administers, and interprets vocational and other psychometric instruments to evaluate abilities, transferrable skills, functional capacity, labor market analyses, aptitudes, interests, values, preferences, and overall work resilience, and synthesize into an interpretive data report. Customizes vocational exploration activities to assist Veteran in identifying self-determined rehabilitation needs and goals. Administers Measurement Based Care (MBC) instrument to track progress throughout treatment and adjust goals and services, as needed. Consults with interdisciplinary teams to enhance coordination of care, ensure medical clearance, and provide for optimal timing of further interventions. Synthesizes assessment information to identify barriers to employment and their vocational implications. Completes various quality assurance and improvement activities to improve services provided. Determines clinical need for and capacity to benefit from therapeutic and rehabilitation services to include work restoration/resilience treatment, transitional work placement and/or competitive employment, assistive technology, financial benefits counseling and potential benefits protections. Develops patient-centered treatment plans utilizing Specific, Measurable, Achievable upon, Realistic, and Time-based (SMART) goals and provides ongoing assessment of Veteran's progress. Devises solutions to reduce and/or eliminate barriers and meet Veterans' placement needs which may require substantial modification to environmental or functional demands within a work setting. Provides psychoeducational and/or psychotherapeutic groups to facilitate effective job search skills, employer-desired soft skills, work and life skills fostering independence and recovery. Provides job development, customized employment, job carving, job coaching, job accommodation, advocacy, and adaptation services to both Veterans with severe disabilities and educate and support employers. Uses marketing strategies to develop, procure and manage collaborative partnerships/ Transitional Work (TW) Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) with local, state and federal agencies and with local business community to enhance employment and/or work opportunities. Establishes and maintains a liaison between the Beckley VA Medical Center and organizations within the community which provide competitive employment opportunities for Veterans. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 8:00AM-4:30PM, alternate work schedule can be discussed with supervisor. Telework: May be appropriate for some telework Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Rehabilitation Counselor/PD002715 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: NOT AUTHORIZED Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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. Education: A master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a rehabilitation counseling program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). If the applicant's degree was granted prior to July 1, 2017, the program must be accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education. OR A master's degree in counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). OR A master's or doctoral degree in a related field of study with course content that emphasized rehabilitation, counseling, disability, therapy, health, employment, wellness, or human development from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA. OR Foreign graduates with a degree acceptable by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC).May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Certification: Current, full and unrestricted certification as a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC) from the CRCC to practice vocational rehabilitation counseling. Exceptions for Graduate RCs: RC graduates from an approved counseling or rehabilitation counseling program who otherwise meet the basic qualification requirements and the additional degree requirements for CRC certification by the CRCC, but do not possess the required certification, may be appointed, pending certification, as a graduate RC on a full-time temporary appointment not-to-exceed two years under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(a)(1)(D) Graduate RCs may only be appointed at the entry grade level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained. Temporary graduate RC appointments may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment. Current VHA Rehabilitation Counselors may qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: GS 9: Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs).In addition to meeting the experience or educational requirements for this grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of human development and behavior, medical, psychosocial, and vocational aspects of disability and differential influences of environmental and cultural factors to assist persons with disabilities in determining suitable vocational goals. Knowledge of history, philosophy and disability rights legislation in the field of rehabilitation to apply in the practice of rehabilitation counseling. Ability to synthesize assessment and diagnosis information in conjunction with labor market trends and community/educational resources to develop an effective individual service delivery plan. Knowledge of caseload management strategies to maximize an individual's independent functioning from assessment through provision of post-employment services. Ability to employ person-centered job development strategies to facilitate successful job placement. Knowledge of assessment tools and methods, functional capacity evaluations and specific vocational preparation to evaluate transferrable skills, residual capacities and needs for accommodations and assistive technology. GS 11: Experience: Completion of one year of professional experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled. OR Education: A doctoral degree in rehabilitation counselor education or related field (e.g. rehabilitation psychology) from a CACREP accredited institution or from an institution accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA. AND In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of physical and psychological disabilities, appropriate accommodations and assistive technology principles to mitigate and reduce or eliminate barriers to integrate into the community. Knowledge of counseling theory, medical and psychiatric terminology and signs and symptomology of suicidal and homicidal ideations, to communicate appropriately with community health care professionals to provide useful input to other team members and employers in relation to the Veteran and/or his/her family's psychosocial needs and to recommend and help implement suitable treatment plans. Ability to use evidence-based and evidence informed vocational and professional counseling practices to include individual placement and support (IPS) customized employment and supported employment models and motivational interviewing skills to promote self-awareness, adjustment to disability, enhanced job retention and successful integration to the community. Knowledge of career development processes and job analysis methodology to determine essential functions of jobs, worksite modifications and/or alternative vocational goals given the work history and residual functional capacities of individuals with disabilities. Ability to administer and interpret a wide variety of assessment methods including transferrable skills and labor market analyses to evaluate for individual interests, aptitudes and abilities and to identify suitable vocational goals for the development of an effective individual service delivery plan. Knowledge of marketing strategies to develop collaborative partnerships/Memorandums of Agreement within VA and local business community to enhance employment and/or work opportunities. Knowledge of military culture and specific factors and dynamics associated with Veterans, particularly combat Veterans, to assist those who are returning to community and community based-work. References: VA Handbook 5005/133 July 21, 2020 PART II APPENDIX G62The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: Traveling throughout the medical center and community is required, as is performing activities involving sitting, walking, and standing, bending and carrying such items as books, papers, and files. In carrying out responsibilities it will be necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where he/she conducts interviews with the Veterans, their families, representatives of community health and welfare agencies and law enforcement agencies. Work Environment: The position may at times involve exposure to a work environment that may include intermittent excessive noise, dust, slippery or uneven walking surfaces, working around moving objects or vehicles. May also be exposed to infective patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative invasive procedures. May occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders; Emotional and Mental Stability: Must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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 Beckley VA Medical Center 200 Veterans Avenue Beckley, WV 25801 US
• Name: Casey Fahey
• Email: [email protected]