The incumbent is a social worker assigned to the Captain James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, IL providing services to Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, Retirees and their Dependents at the FHCC Main Campus and in Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Evanston Illinois, McHenry Illinois and Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center is a Level 1C Facility.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: The incumbent is responsible for maximizing psychosocial quality of life issues in order to assist Veterans to remain in their home or in a less restrictive level of care other than a nursing home and avoid hospitalization as often as possible. The incumbent serves Veterans who tend to have serious, frequent, and severe crises, lack family or an adequate community support networks, have poor self-monitoring and advocacy skills; inability to understand and follow instructions and treatments; have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing psychosocial and medical support. Incumbent serves as program coordinator and is administratively responsible for the Medical Foster Home Program. Coordinator manages the daily operation of the program and provides direct Veteran-centric services in the program area. Responsibilities include the daily operation of the program, developing policies and procedures for program operation and preparing reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to these programs regarding day-to-day functioning and program evaluation. The overall function of the Medical Foster Home Program at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. The incumbent oversees program development, recruitment, and development of the foster homes, recruitment and admission of Veteran residents, case management, development of policies and care processes, and coordination with HBPC interdisciplinary treatment teams. Marketing the model of care and reaches out to community groups and agencies to promote the foster care program. Works closely with VHA Public Affairs Office to market the program internally and externally. Incumbent serves as a mentor to other VA MFH program coordinators, social workers, and other interested health care providers Utilizes national Directive, application forms, and inspection tools to screen and assess Caregiver applicants wishing to become a MFH Caregiver which includes approving and disapproving MFH Caregivers in coordination with the approving official. Providing oversight during monthly unannounced visits to the MFH and addressing concerns of Veterans and caregivers that supports the MFH model of care. Establish intake processes and oversight responsibilities and maintains a record-keeping system for the program. Providing training to caregivers, students, residents, interns, and fellows from other disciplines regarding the advantages and disadvantages of a medical foster home. Topics include but are not limited to caregiver and family issues and the impact of psychosocial issues and problems of the Veteran in a medical foster home. Have extensive knowledge of medical center policies and procedures, VHA and VBA regulations. The work may require assisting physically disabled Veterans. Day-to-day work involves sitting, walking, standing and carrying light objects, such as medical records. Work is typically performed in a clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to the communicable diseases common of the client population. Work is also performed outside the medical center campus, where the environment cannot be controlled. Driving a vehicle in all types of weather conditions to provide community outreach and oversight visits to Medical Foster homes; and navigating stairs in and out of buildings Work Schedule: 0700-1530 Telework: 1-2 days per pay period may be authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. 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. 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/. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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 12 Program Coordinator 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: (a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. (d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). (e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. References: VHA Handbook 5005 PART II Appendix G39

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 Captain James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center 3001 Green Bay Road North Chicago, IL 60064 US
• Name: Vanessa Houliston
• Phone: 725-210-2766
• Email: [email protected]