This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

The actual work location for position will be in Merrillville/Hobart, IN. HUD-VASH is an intensive case management program for chronically homeless veterans aimed at providing psychosocial services to veterans while residing in stable housing through HUD's Section 8 voucher system. The social worker in this position must be able to function independently and responsibly while working in the community, provide consultation and guidance to veterans, community agencies and Section 8 landlords, effectively deal with crisis situations with little supervision, and display effective social work practice skills. The incumbent in this position functions as the Senior Case Manager/Team Leader for the Jesse Brown VAMC's Housing and Urban Development / VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH). The HUD-VASH Program falls within the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Programs of the Mental Health Service Line. The incumbent is responsible for coordination of case management services for veterans receiving housing provided through HUD Section 8 housing vouchers. Administratively manages the social workers assigned to their team. Facilitates the weekly case conferencing/team meetings and provides case consultation for staff when necessary. Provides clinical support and case management resources and information concerning VA and supportive services in the community. Serves as a liaison between the social workers and HUD/VASH Program Coordinator regarding specific clinical issues concerning the veterans assigned to their team. Mentor's new social workers in understanding the HUDNASH Program and the clinical documentation that associated with the program. The incumbent is responsible for providing case management to veterans in the HUD-VASH Program. The incumbent is responsible for reviewing agreements between Section 8 landlords, Public Housing Authorities, and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements. The incumbent performs site visits of HUD-VASH apartments to ensure that the veterans reside in a safe environment. Compliance with local housing codes is enforced through site visits by the local housing authority prior to approval of site for Section 8 funding. The incumbent is responsible for collecting and submitting HUD-VASH Program participant data throughout the referral, application and case management period as outlined by NEPEC evaluation procedures. The incumbent adheres to strict code of Social Work and VA ethics to avoid conflicts of interest while serving as the HUD-VASH Case Manager. The incumbent actively participate in the HUD-VASH Program conference calls and attends trainings offered by HUD-VASH. The incumbent actively participates in program planning and developments, advising the supervisor or shifting trends with caseloads and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedures or policy changes based upon work experiences. The incumbent will conduct psychosocial assessments to determine needs of the veterans and family members. The incumbent will provide individual, family and group counseling as appropriate. The incumbent will provide consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives, and VA benefits. The incumbent will act as a consultant to the other team/staff members. The incumbent will act as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relations duties as needed. The incumbent will provide a full range of social work services within commonly accepting standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate. The incumbent will address Advance Directives and Organ Donation in accordance with the standards of their work area. The incumbent will coordinate treatment and communicate with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for veterans. The incumbent will maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with JCARHO, CARF, VA and medical center policy and procedures. The incumbent will document social work interventions and activities in patient' clinical records utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care. The incumbent will maintain familiarity and responsibility for all performance measures relating to the HUD-VASH Program. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Telework: Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.Learn more Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). 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 Master 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/. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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 the following KSAs: (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. References: September 10, 2019, VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is a GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. IMPORTANT: A transcript and License must be submitted with your application. Note: Evidence of experience, must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held. Please provide such documentation on your application or resume. Also, please provide work experience information such as hours per week and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish one (1) full year of experience. The requirement for this proof is specified in the "How to Apply" section of this announcement. To be credible, experience must be documented in the application and verifiable through employment references and/or other means.

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 Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Valerie Kelly
• Phone: 773-946-3802
• Email: [email protected]