Job opening: Social Worker HUD-VASH
Salary: $82 797 - 107 633 per year
Published at: Dec 06 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
In 1992 the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA)established the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program. The program is acollaborative effort, supported through HUD Section 8 rental assistance vouchers and VA'sprovision of intensive case management services. The primary goal of HUD-VASH is to moveveterans and their families out of chronic homelessness.
Duties
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
FUNCTIONS OF POSITION
Program Administration and Organization
The incumbent is responsible for data collection, administrative record keeping, and monitoring
patient or program clinical indicators, thresholds, and performance measurements. Additionally,
the incumbent develops working relationships and agreements with other organizations and
directly coordinates with the designated PHA regarding housing voucher application and award
process for each veteran. The incumbent is responsible to review the agreements between
Section 8 landlords, PHAs, and the VA to establish appropriate referral sites for placements.
The incumbent implements referral and screening procedures for potential HUD/VASH veteran
participants that meet national policy as well as the needs of medical center mental health
services and residential programs. Referral, screening and admission criteria recognizes
program eligibility, prioritization of subsets of the homeless veteran population, requirements of
the PHAs, and other policy, regulation, or law pertaining to program administration. The
incumbent provides primary input for program participant selection based on structured
interviews and clinical assessments.
Outreach
The incumbent regularly conducts and participants in outreach activities including field
interviews, assessments and referrals for homeless veterans contacted in the community,
shelters, and "on the streets," as well as those who are referred by VA residential programs,
medical centers or outpatient clinics. The incumbent maintains current and establishes new
relationships with other community-based service providers for the homeless, and when
appropriate, represents VA at community service provider meetings.
Clinical Assessment
The incumbent evaluates the veteran's situation, abilities, and capabilities, and arrives at a
reasoned conclusion including an assessment of vulnerability and prioritization for admission.
The incumbent assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary plan, involving the veteran
and family or significant others, and performs an insightful assessment of serious and
complicated cases involving psychiatric illness which may also include, catastrophic medical
condition, dementia, traumatic brain injuries, and other high risks diagnoses. As part of a
comprehensive psychosocial assessment, the incumbent interviews the veteran and their family
members or significant others to establish facts about the veteran's situation, presenting
problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the veterans functioning and
health. The incumbent reviews all data, subjective and objective and makes a clinical
assessment, identifying needs and strengths. Based on the psychosocial assessment, the
incumbent uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial
diagnosis.
Referral, Rehabilitation, and Program Admission
The incumbent provides referral to VA medical and mental health inpatient and outpatient
treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social
services and other non-VA entitlement programs. If appropriate, the incumbent provides
referrals or consults, or in some cases direct admission of the veterans prior to HUD/VASH
participation, for other VA programs including community-based residential treatment such as
Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Programs, Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) contract
residential treatment, Domiciliary or Psychiatric Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment
Programs (PRRTP), or Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) and Compensated Work Therapy
Transnational Residence (CWT/TR)Programs.
Comprehensive Case Management
The incumbent develops psychosocial treatment plans, actively involving the veteran and their
family or significant others, in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, based on the
psychosocial assessments, including goals for clinical treatment. Using known resources, the
incumbent makes initial and continuing decisions coordinating the veteran's care through linking
and referral to VA medical facilities or Regional Offices and other VA and non-VA services and
provides independent consultation and makes recommendation to the interdisciplinary team on
course of action. The incumbent effectively provides case management services while utilizing
professional skill, objectivity, insight, advanced clinical training, and experience to interpret data
and to identify viable treatment options and recognizing potential high-risk factors, acuity, and
needs for services.
Other Duties as Assigned
Work Schedule: M-F 0800 to 1630
Telework: Reg Teleworks 3+Days/PP
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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:
a. 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).
b. 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.
c. 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/.
Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who
are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for
licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade
level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or
certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work
executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written
requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or
certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or
certified by the deadline.]
Preferred Experience: Experience in MH case management
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 September 10, 2019 PART II APPENDIX G39
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11
GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the
following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
b. Social Worker, GS-11 [ ]
(1) 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
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) [Full Performance Level] Assignments. This is the full performance level. Social
workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work.
Incumbents are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to inpatient or
outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and
geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the
assigned area. Duties include but are not limited to assessing and documenting
identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate
partner violence; use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran
privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives.
Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
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
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: Gary Byles
- Phone: 919-286-0411 X4949
- Email: [email protected]
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