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 Social Worker position is in Social Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System located at the Brockton, MA campus. This position is full time at 40 hours per week. The incumbent serves as program coordinator for the Dementia Care Coordination Program, a new case management and care coordination program at the VA Boston Healthcare System. This new specialty treatment program is designed to provide preventive and proactive continuous patient-centered dementia care interventions that are evidence based. This GS-12 program coordinator is in a leadership position, works independently and has both administrative and clinical responsibilities. The incumbent leads the DCC Program, facilitating and promoting the use of dementia care coordination by Primary Care, Neurology, and Mental Health as appropriate to improve clinical outcomes. The incumbent works collaboratively with both existing VA providers/programs and community organizations to optimize accessibility and utilization of resources and to integrate delivery of healthcare services for those patients with dementia and their caregivers. The program serves veterans diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia and provides supportive interventions to their caregivers. The incumbent is responsible for initiating program development and program implementation. The incumbent manages/ plans and monitors the delivery of services for the DCC Program and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. This includes program evaluation and planning for expansion of services/staffing based on service needs. Program location is Brockton CampusThe duties include but are not limited to: The incumbent is currently the sole clinician serving as the Dementia Care Coordinator at the VA Boston Healthcare System for veterans diagnosed with dementia and their caregivers providing case management, care coordination and supportive interventions as needed. The incumbent is assigned to administrative responsibility for clinical program oversight and development. Duties include providing coordination of care and direct patient care services as well as managing the daily operation of the program. The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to program and day to day functioning for program evaluation/ planning by maintaining statistical records for the program. The incumbent will participate in activities that obtain feedback from patients and their family/caregivers to enrich services and interventions. Based on program evaluation and research findings, the incumbent may propose new outcome measures and initiate changes in practice at the program level. The incumbent provides administrative, technical and clinical supervision necessary to accomplish the mission/goals of the DCC Program. When necessary, the incumbent provides clinical coverage to Primary Care Clinic in the absence of the Primary Care social worker to ensure timely access to and coordination of care for veterans/ family systems. The incumbent documents in the patient's medical record in accordance with Social Work Service policies, Medical Center policies, and Joint Commission requirements. This includes an initial bio-psycho-social evaluation of the patient and the caregiver. The incumbent evaluates the patient's situation, including the patient's ability to cope/deal with their current situation given any urgent/ crisis driven issues and difficulties related to their cognitive deficits and dementia. Based on the psychosocial assessment, the incumbent uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am- 4:30PM Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Maybe authorized at supervisor's discretion. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. EDRP: Authorized - Contact Karen Chapman [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions or assistance on how to begin the application process. Learn more. Functional Statement #: F1046 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required NOTIFICATIONS: This position is in the Excepted Service. This position is a AFGE Bargaining Unit position. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/01/2024. 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 the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a master of social work. Licensure. 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. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Grade Determinations/Minimum Qualifications for GS-12 (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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. Preferred Experience: 1. LICSW 2. Experience providing clinical supervision 3. Experience with supervisory tasks including assigning duties/tasks and completing performance evaluation 4.Experience working with VA and community-based programs 5.Case Management experience 6. Experience working with a clinical multi-disciplinary team 7.Experience working with Geriatrics 8. Experienced with Program Evaluation/Design/Development/Process improvement and data collection 9. Networking, outreach, and public speaking/presentation experience 10. Experience with budget/resource management References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Traveling throughout the Medical Center and CBOCs is required. Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Applicants must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the applicant or others.

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

Contacts

• Address VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Diane McClure
• Phone: 774-826-4912
• Email: [email protected]