The Social Services Assistant (SSA) serves Mental Health areas, Patient Care Services and Mental Health Service Lines, Tomah VA Medical Center, VISN 12, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Tomah, Wisconsin.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include, but are not limited to: Patient Services: Conducts individual and group education and counseling under the guidance of appropriate clinical staff assigned to the program. Serves as a Case Worker by assisting the multi-disciplinary treatment team (psychologists, social workers, nursing staff, recreation therapist, etc.,) in monitoring patient progress via the established treatment plan. Intervenes when necessary to motivate the patient toward adherence to the treatment plan. Conducts individual and group education and counseling under the guidance of appropriate clinical staff assigned to the program. Communicates with staff, family members, and others interested in the patient's care to resolve problems and difficulties associated with adjustment to a structured and supportive environment. Outreach: Coordinates with community care, transitional housing, homeless shelters and other. Organizations and agencies providing services to Veterans. Educates and encourages Veterans to make use of available community services and to participate in benefit programs for which the Veteran is found eligible. Caseworker: Plans, advocates, monitors, and provides connections for the Veteran and resource development in the community. Ensures provision of mental and physical health care services, prescribed medications, funds, and entitlements as well as adequate housing. Determines that a patient had the elements above in place prior to discharge, using some judgment but with the determination reviewed and confirmed by supervisors or clinical staff. Assists in improving the social and interpersonal functioning by maximizing constructive use of time through vocational, recreational and social activity. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

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 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-6: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5) in the Federal service, that equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. 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. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE GS-6: having successfully completed one-half years (1½ (9 semester hours) of graduate level education in subjects directly related to the position? This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college, or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One (1) year of full-time graduate education is the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year and a half (1½) year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, eighteen (18) semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one (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. Education cannot be credited without documentation. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE GS-6: having the equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience, as described above, to meet total qualification requirements at the GS-6 level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: CommunicationsComputer SkillsInfluencing/NegotiatingInterpersonal SkillsManages and Organizes InformationVeteran 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: Travel may be required on outreach trips to the community. While a significant amount of the work performed is sedentary in nature, the employee must engage in walking, climbing stairs, bending, lifting, carrying, and assisting patients in entering buildings and automobiles. This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. 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 Tomah VA Medical Center 500 East Veterans Street Tomah, WI 54660 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]