The Justice Outreach Social Worker is a Social Worker (Program Coordinator) whose primary responsibilities are to provide psychosocial assessments, case management services, continuous quality improvement activities, evaluation/consultation, placement services, and referral and linkage to various community agencies for Veterans who are within 6 months of release from correctional institutions and/or being monitored by the courts, including treatment or problem-solving courts.

Duties

The responsibilities of the Social Worker (Justice Outreach) include but are not limited to the following description: Meet with judges, officers of the court, correctional administrators, and staff on a regular basis to design and/or maintain appropriate policies and procedures required for each setting. Attend justice system staff trainings relevant to working with offenders and high-risk populations and represent the VA at community meetings, seeking or maintaining membership on relevant boards, councils, and task forces. Collaborate with other Justice Outreach clinicians to support engagement in care for eligible Veterans recently discharged from correctional institutions. Conduct justice-related staff development programs for mental health and other program staff and provide opportunities for staff to update their mental health professional knowledge and practice skills. Provide training and guidance to entry level staff and graduate students. Conduct active outreach to Veterans involved with the justice system, including those who may be participants or candidates for participation, in treatment court programs, including Veterans Courts. Assess high risk factors, acuity, and need for services, and serve Veterans who tend to have frequent and severe crisis, lack family or an adequate community support network, be poor at self-monitoring, frequently fail to comply with instructions or treatment, or have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychosocial support. Identify and interview justice-involved Veterans in the appropriate setting to conduct needs assessment and determine appropriate referrals, linkage and coordination for VA and non-VA services to enhance function in the community, including in transition from jail or prison. Establish relationships with correctional medical and psychiatric leadership and personnel, where appropriate, to ensure continuity of care for appropriate back-up, if needed, when encountering Veterans in a correctional institution. Observe established VA safety precautions while working in correctional facilities and/or in community settings. Function as an ongoing case manager for justice-involved Veterans who are being monitored by treatment courts (and as needed for Veterans released from correctional institutions) by performing duties to facilitate independent community living by coordinating mental health and community care. As appropriate, complete release of information, and assist with completion, submission, and follow-up regarding VA eligibility (DD214) and enrollment (10-10EZ) and other VA Forms or application for benefits through VBA. Serve as a consultant on the complex processes Veterans encounter when interacting with government and community agencies. Provide referral and linkage to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs. Collaborate with county probation officers, prosecutors, public defenders, retained defense counsel, and parole officers as appropriate to develop a post-release plan and/or community-based alternative to incarceration. Participate as an active member of the court treatment team, providing or coordinating the provision of clinical treatment using evidence-based models appropriate to the justice-involved Veteran population, including Motivational Interviewing, Seeking Safety, or other evidence-based interventions. Maintain a working relationship with a network of referral resources. Assist Veterans in maintaining appointments at VA medical centers and other community agencies for medical, psychiatric, substance abuse, vocational and other services consistent with Veteran's goals associated with healthful independent living. Participate in the development of a treatment plan for each Veteran contacted through outreach. Conduct individual and family clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of substance abuse, psychiatric illness, and social needs as treatment issues. Participate in the assignment of Veterans to VA and non-VA treatment teams and programs. Document contacts with justice-involved Veterans, using charting in progress notes in CPRS and appropriate evaluation tools developed for justice outreach. With consent of the Veteran, provide input into treatment planning to the court and reports on treatment progress in VA services as needed. Stay abreast of current theory and treatment modalities and evaluate his/her practice on an ongoing basis through participation in professional peer review, etc. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30 pm Telework: Authorized, on management's discretion and needs of the service Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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). 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 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/. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grandfathering Provision: 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). In addition to the basic requirements, selected candidate must satisfy the requirements for the grade as listed below: Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have one (1) 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. 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. (d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). (e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Program coordinators at the GS12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program. The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments. They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts. Preferred Experience: Criminal Justice System experience; experience working with homeless veterans with serious mental illness, substance abuse. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G39, Senior Social Worker (GS-12) Qualification Standard GS-185 Veterans Health Administration The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary, but may require walking, bending, standing, and /or carrying of light items such as files and manuals. The work does not require any special physical effort or ability.

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 Coatesville VA Medical Center 1400 Black Horse Hill Road Coatesville, PA 19320 US
• Name: Britni Briscoe
• Phone: 443-648-1037
• Email: [email protected]