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 the MISSION Act.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Caregiver Support Program (CSP) Senior Social Worker for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers is assigned to the CSP with responsibility to act as a subject matter expert (SME) within the CSP team. The Social Worker will provide specialized consultation on the administrative and clinical considerations of the CSP as referenced in VHA Directive 1152 (1). The PCAFC provides education and training, respite care, mental health services, beneficiary travel (to attend required caregiver training and for an eligible Veteran's medical appointments), a monthly stipend payment, and access to health care (if qualified) through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) as set forth in VHA Directive 1152 (1). These services are provided to approved family caregivers of qualified Veterans as outlined in the MISSION Act. Functions or scope of assigned duties include but are not limited to: The CSP Senior Social Worker assists in the day-to-day operations of the Caregiver Support Program and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility and VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives. The Social Worker collaborates with the other members of the CSP team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensuring equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, and ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The Social Worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs as assigned. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN, and national level or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor or Chief of Social Work Services. The Social Worker develops and facilitates caregiver support groups and educational programs and distributes educational materials provided by VA, local, state, and national caregiver organizations. The Social Worker participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to assess caregiver stress/burden and the development/application of directed clinical treatment interventions. The Social Worker provides caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the treatment of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress, and social needs. Professional judgment, including the knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior, is an inherent competency applied in daily interactions with caregivers and the Veterans to whom they are providing care. The Social Worker is responsible for conducting regular home visits to Veterans and Caregivers participating in the PCAFC, responds to calls from the National Caregiver Support Hotline, responds to other phone calls and general inquiries regarding the CSP, and assists with general tasks associated with the program. The Social Worker advises and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams throughout the medical center on caregiver issues. They are responsible for creating educational tools, developing programs, and implementing training focused on specific caregiver needs/issues and providing education and in-service training to VAMC employees, Veterans, families, and caregivers. They also provide ongoing consultation and support to colleagues regarding caregiver support services and issues facing Veterans, families and their caregivers. The Social Worker assists in coordinating events and programs for the annual National Family Caregivers Month in November, which includes announcements and advertising of month-long activities, mobilization of participants, educational sessions, caregiver recognition events, and caregiver support programs. They assist program leadership in maintaining a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program and assists in collecting and analyzing local data for reports to local management, the VISN Caregiver Support Program Lead, and the National Caregiver Support Program. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m. Telework: May be available at the discretion of the Service Chief or equivalent Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. 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: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Preferred Experience: Working with interdisciplinary team Group development & implementation Conducting home visits Clinical interventions for caregiver stress Psychiatric illness Emotional distress and social needs Good communication skills References: VA HANDBOOK 5005, PART II, APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12 Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. The Social Worker must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the Social Worker or others.

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 Durham VA Medical Center 508 Fulton Street Durham, NC 27705 US
• Name: Tierra White
• Phone: 919-827-2514
• Email: [email protected]