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. CSP expansion puts the VHA out front of the health care industry as a health care system pioneer-caring for the caregiver.

Duties

Functions of the Social Worker for CSP: The CSP 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 incumbent 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 incumbent develops and facilitates caregiver support groups and educational programs and distributes educational materials provided by VA, local, state, and national caregiver organizations. The incumbent participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to assess caregiver stress/burden and the development/application of directed clinical treatment interventions. The incumbent is responsible for conducting regular home visits to Veterans and Caregivers participating in the PCAFC, responding to calls from the National Caregiver Support Hotline, responding to other phone calls and general inquiries regarding the CSP, and assisting with general tasks associated with the program. The incumbent 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 incumbent will assess Veterans needs for personal care services, particularly Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), supervision, protection or instruction, working closely with the Caregiver Support Program Manager and/or designee(s), to complete Veteran functional assessments and re-assessments. The incumbent will also assist other program staff in providing clinical services, completing notes and gathering/monitoring data related to the day-to-day functioning and evaluation of the program. Function in support of caregivers, Veterans and family members throughout the Medical Center and in the community. Complies with and supports any ongoing monitoring efforts of the standardized assessment instrument by VA. Complies with the requirements of extensive Talent Management System (TMS) training, bi-annual re-training and any ongoing inter-rater reliability and/or peer reviews as determined by policy or national program office guidance. The Social Worker will collaborate with the VA Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), mental health, and geriatric primary care clinicians to provide Veteran and staff education on caregiver issues and to obtain input on Veteran's functional needs. The incumbent demonstrates skill in communication and can develop positive, effective relationships with all CSP stakeholders including Veterans, caregivers, local, state, and federal agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations. If appropriate, they provide referrals or consults, and in some cases facilitate direct admission of a Veteran to other VA programs including but not limited to the Community Residential Care Program, Respite Program, Community Health Care Coordination Program, Hospice, Home Based Primary Care, Telehealth, and the Community Nursing Home Program. The incumbent stays informed regarding current federal and state legislation directed at assisting caregivers to continue to provide caregiving in an environment that is safe for both themselves and the Veteran. They serve as a liaison between the VA and community agencies. They participate in caregiver support activities in the local community and state to promote and recognize the role of the caregiver and participates on state and local caregiver support committees. The incumbent 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, Care Management and Social Work Service, Office of Patient Care Services. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday Telework: 6+ days/ Pay Period Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 53807F Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. 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 (MSW) 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. Please note: A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Licensure. Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Regulations. 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). Must pass a background check. Grade Requirements: GS-11 Social Worker Assignments. This is the full performance level for social workers. GS-11 social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. They are assigned to all program areas, including inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. Experience, Education and Licensure. Promotion to the GS-11 full performance level requires completion of a minimum of 1 year of post-MSW degree experience in the field of health care social work (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. OR, In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required 1 year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-11. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary. There is some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items such as papers, files, manuals and records. For additional information on Physical Standards please see VA Directive and Handbook 5019. http://www.va.gov/vapubs/

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 Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center 3701 Loop Road East Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 US
• Name: Jenna McCarthy
• Email: [email protected]