The GS-12 Veteran's Justice Outreach Specialist (VJO) has clinical social work responsibilities that are primarily conducted in community settings. The VJO has three areas of focus: local criminal justice courts, local police departments and local county jails. The VJO serves as a member of the Mental Health Service Line and is an integral part of the Homeless Programs Outpatient Continuum of Services as these programs are the primary areas utilized in the criminal justice system.

Duties

Duties to include but not limited to: Collaboration with justice system including police officers, sheriff's deputies, court judges, classification officers, probation officers, reentry staff, public defenders, private attorneys and district attorneys. Interacting with both Veterans and the attorneys representing Veterans to determine if VA intervention and treatment is viable and appropriate.- Participation as an active member of a court team. Coordination of outreach services with city and county jail facilities.- Administering needs assessments.- Providing time limited case management including direct referrals to VA programs and non-VA programs. Providing clinical treatment using evidence-based models such as Motivational Interviewing and Seeking Safety.- Maintain patient database and program statistics.- Tracking population trends and program performance measures . Conducting expert consults with facility staff.- Coordinating care with VA and community providers. Support existing Veterans Courts and take the initiative in the development of new Veterans Courts.- Build new relationships and expand existing relationships with community treatment court judges, court personnel, district attorneys, public defenders and private attorneys to assist and serve Veterans involved in these court systems. Build new relationships and expand existing relationships with community police forces serving the catchment area of the medical center. Provides training to law enforcement personnel regarding identifying Veterans, eligibility for VHA and VBA benefits, as well as issues regarding Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and other mental health diagnoses. Build new relationships and expand existing relationships with VA Police Forces who service the affiliated healthcare system. This will include but not be limited to arrangements for the provision of sensitivity to Veterans issues and intervention with Veterans as well as active involvement in the further development of positive working relationships between VA Police and VA treatment providers and administrators. Conduct regular, ongoing outreach to selected jail facilities serving the catchment area of the medical center. This will include development of collaborative arrangements with county jail personnel involved in outside programming and reentry services, arrangements for jail clearance for the VJO Specialist and other involved VA outreach staff, and establishing a schedule of regular outreach to the facilities. Collaborates with county probation officers, public defenders, district attorneys, hired attorneys, judges and community health and mental health agency staff to develop a treatment plan that offers alternatives to incarceration. Establishes point of contact in the VA medical center enrollment department to expedite enrollment process and access to medical care. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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). 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: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (1) Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.(d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.(e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting; Light carrying; straight pulling; Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Walking; Standing; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; ability to distinguish colors.

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 Atlanta VA Medical Center 1670 Clairmont Road Decatur, GA 30033 US
• Name: Christie Lowery
• Phone: 205-554-2000
• Email: [email protected]