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

Social Worker, GS-9 The incumbent is able to provide individual and group psychotherapy. The incumbent possesses the ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. The incumbent establishes and maintains effective working relationships and communicates with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. The incumbent assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. The incumbent works with patients and families who are experiencing a basic emotional, medical, and Social problems utilizing individual and group counseling skills. Work with more complex problems are done under close supervision. With guidance from the Social Work supervisor or Senior Social Worker. The incumbent develops, implements, and maintains methods for accessing internal and external resources for veterans and their family members. Gathering information from internal and external colleagues and insuring accessibility to staff is also essential. The incumbent works on a multidisciplinary team and assists the patient in developing realistic treatment goals, discharge planning, and aftercare plans that are based on the needs and abilities of the veteran. The incumbent knows which staff to involve in solving problems on the veteran's behalf. The incumbent understands when a case or situation requires consultation from an advanced level practitioner or needs to be referred to another staff. The incumbent documents in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) in accordance with the guidelines established by the program and VHA. Progress notes are to be concise and comprehensive, and documentation will be entered in a timely fashion. The incumbent willingly accepts additional and special assignments that are necessary to meet program goals or customer needs. Social Worker, GS-11 The incumbent performs treatment of complex mental illness requiring outpatient mental health services. The incumbent provides direct clinical services to veterans and their families based upon psychosocial assessment and psychiatric diagnoses. The incumbent is able to provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy, using Evidenced Based Practices which reflect the Recovery Model of treatment. The incumbent is able to provide case management interventions and perform psychosocial mental health assessments. The incumbent deals effectively with crisis situations and can effectively use problem-solving skills in an independent manner to assist the veteran, family, staff, and community providers in solving problems. The incumbent is also able to perform psychosocial mental health assessments, facilitate measurement-based care, and accurately access for suicidality. Clinical services are provided in-person and through tele-health technologies, when appropriate. The incumbent develops, implements, and maintains methods for accessing internal and external resources for veterans and their family members. Gathering information from internal and external colleagues and insuring accessibility to staff is also essential. The incumbent works on a multidisciplinary team and assists the patient in developing realistic treatment goals, discharge planning, and aftercare plans that are based on the needs and abilities of the veteran. The incumbent knows which staff to involve in solving problems on the veteran's behalf. The incumbent understands when a case or situation requires consultation from an advanced level practitioner or needs to be referred to another staff. The incumbent performs various functions as delineated in the Scope of Practice for that position. The incumbent performs other related duties as assigned to address programmatic needs. The incumbent documents in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) in accordance with the guidelines established by the program and VHA. Progress notes are to be concise and comprehensive, and documentation will be entered in a timely fashion. The incumbent may be required to work occasional weekends or evenings as determined by the service needs. The incumbent willingly accepts additional and special assignments that are necessary to meet program goals or customer needs. Required: LCSW Preferred: LCSW, Mental Health experience Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, with adjustments to accommodate 1-2 evening appointments per week Telework: Available as Adhoc based on clinic needs Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 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. GS-9 Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. GS-11 Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non- VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c. OR Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. 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: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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: September 10, 2019 VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is a GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application. IMPORTANT: 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]