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

This is a part time position - compensation will be prorated based on hours actually worked. The Social Worker (Clinical Assessor) is assigned to the Caregiver Support Program. This position is primarily responsible for assessing a Veteran's functional needs, including the need for personal care services using standardized assessments. Duties include, but are not limited to: Assess Veterans needs for personal care services, particularly Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), supervision, protection or instruction, working closely with the Caregiver Support Program Coordinators or designee, to complete Veteran functional assessments and re-assessments. Assist other program staff in providing clinical services. Conduct initial home assessments as part of the application or reassessment process for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. Assist in the day-to-day operations specific to area of assignment and ensure compliance and collaboration with local facility and the VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives. Participate in face-to-face or virtual contact with the caregiver and Veteran to assess function and the need for personal care services, and as needed, the development and application of directed clinical treatment interventions. Utilize and assist in maintaining a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program and assist in collecting and analyzing local data for reports for: local management, VISN Caregiver Support Program Leads, Centralized Eligibility and Appeal Teams, the National Caregiver Support Program, Care Management and Social Work and Office of Patient Care Services. Evaluate program progress and outcomes and utilize data to continuously modify and improve the program, processes, and use of a standardized assessment instrument. Advise and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams throughout the medical center on caregiver issues. Create educational tools, develop programs and implement training focused on specific caregiver needs/issues. Provide education and in-service training to VAMC employees, Veterans, families and caregivers. Provide ongoing consultation and support to colleagues regarding caregiver support. Develop and facilitate caregiver support groups (face-to-face or virtual) and educational programs. Conduct Veteran, caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress and social needs as treatment issues. Utilize professional judgment, including the knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior. Provide referrals to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs. Provide referrals or consults, or in some cases facilitate direct admission of a Veteran to other VA programs. Serve as a consultant for navigating the complex processes caregivers, Veterans, and families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies. Stay informed regarding current federal and state legislation directed at assisting caregivers to continue to provide caregiving in an environment that is safe. Maintain a knowledge base of current theory and treatment modalities. Collaborate with the VA Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), mental health, and geriatric primary care clinicians to provide Veteran and staff education on caregiver issues and to obtain input on Veteran's functional needs. Coordination will include chart review, case consultation, in-person, phone or electronic communication, and training of patient aligned care team clinical social work staff. Respond to inquiries from the Centralized Eligibility and Appeals Team and responsible for tracking and processing Functional Assessment consults. Develop and foster relationships with community partners to assist with system navigation, maintain collaboration and coordinate services Maintains basic knowledge of local VA medical center programs, community services and VA Central Office caregiver support initiatives. Perform a wide range of services and may provide technical assistance to state, local, and private agencies, and universities. Comply with and support any ongoing monitoring efforts of the standardized assessment instrument by VA. Comply with the requirements of extensive Talent Management System (TMS) training, bi-annual re-training and any ongoing inter-rater reliability and peer reviews. Work Schedule: Part-time, Monday - Friday 8:00am - 12:00pm Telework: Available, Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected] for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: 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 masters of social work. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) Licensure/Certification. 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/. (COPY OF LICENSE REQUIRED FOR GS-11) 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. 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. 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). GRADE DETERMINATIONS: GS-9 Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). 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, and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. 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. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) 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. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Full licensure as this position is a clinical assessor for programmatic eligibility determination. REFERENCES: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, September 10, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Light lifting (under 15 pounds) and driving a government vehicle. Environmental factors include working outside and inside and working closely with others.

Education

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP). If selected for this position, you are encouraged to apply for EDRP within four (4) months of appointment and must meet specific individual eligibility criteria in accordance with VHA Policy 1021. Final award amount and program start date is determined after review of a complete EDRP application, supporting documentation, and final approval by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services office. Please contact the EDRP Coordinators @ [email protected]

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 4815 North Assembly Street Spokane, WA 99205 US
• Name: Randi Tran
• Phone: 509-434-7000 X6680
• Email: [email protected]