The Medical Foster Home (MFH) Program Coordinator is responsible for maximizing psychosocial quality of life issues in order to assist veterans to remain in their home or in a less restrictive level of care other than a nursing home, and keep them out of the hospital as often as possible. Contract Nursing Home social worker is a social worker who is responsible for the social work oversight to our contract nursing homes. This incumbent works collaboratively with the RN coordinator.

Duties

Medical Foster Home Program-75% The overall function of the Medical Foster Home Program at VA BHHCS. The incumbent is in charge of program development, recruitment, and development of the foster homes, recruitment and placement of veteran residents, case management, development of policies and care processes, and coordination with HBPC interdisciplinary treatment teams. Responsible for recruiting foster care sponsors, assessing their capacity for care, and coordinating fire and safety inspections. Selecting of homes and residents, establishes intake processes, establishes oversight responsibilities, and maintains a record-keeping system for the program. Marketing the model of care and reaches out to community groups and agencies to promote the foster care program. Incumbent serves as a mentor to other VA MFH program coordinators, social workers, and other interested health care providers. Providing training to caregivers, students, residents, interns and fellows from other disciplines regarding the advantages and disadvantages of a medical foster home. Topics include but are not limited to caregiver and family issues and the impact of psychosocial issues and problems of the veteran in a medical foster home. Have extensive knowledge of medical center policies and procedures, VHA and VBA regulations. The work may require assisting physically disabled veterans. Day-to-day work involves sitting, walking, standing and carrying light objects, such as medical records. Work is typically performed in a clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to the communicable diseases common of the client population. Some work is performed outside the medical center campus, where the environment cannot be controlled. Contract Nursing Home Social Worker-25% The incumbent will provide primarily oversight of Veterans placed in VA Contracted Nursing Home by visiting Veterans on site at the Nursing Homes once every 2 months. Some case management intervention may be necessary to ensure needs are met. The incumbent will enter all Veteran/family contacts in the electronic medical record using appropriate formats and templates. This information will be entered in a complete, confidential, and professional manner to ensure information on the patient is shared with other VA staff. This information will be reviewed on a regular basis. The incumbent uses initiative and resourcefulness to develop new methods, criteria, and implement new policies. The incumbent practices at an advanced level and independently gathers relevant information to guide practice, including community Social Work standards. They will have the ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0730-1600 Telework: AdHoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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). 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/. Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. GS-11 equivalent experience is demonstrated by, but not limited to: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services; 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; 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; 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; 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. Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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 VA Black Hills Health Care System 113 Comanche Road Fort Meade, SD 57741 US
• Name: Breeze Hennes
• Phone: (320) 252-1670 X5222
• Email: [email protected]