The Social Worker is the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Specialist for SSVF and the Heath Care for Homeless Programs. This position provides case management and intervention support to SSVF in a team oriented, recovery-based program. The SUD Specialist supports the SSVF Program by providing continuity of care between Homeless Programs through services to Veterans with SUDs.

Duties

- Provides training for other members of the multidisciplinary treatment team in areas related to SUD assessment, anger management, and life skills and SUD with co-occurring disorders. With a focus on Veterans in SSVF programs, independently conducts intake or comprehensive evaluations and diagnostic assessments. - Provides psychoeducation and brief evidenced based psychotherapy. - Facilitates recovery oriented treatment coordination and culturally sensitive treatment planning for Veterans enrolled in SSVF programs, with particular attention to addressing factors that have contributed to homelessness - Works with the Veteran to realize the Veteran's treatment goals and reassesses and revises goals as indicated by the Veteran's engagement in treatment. - Provides SUD support to the SSVF Grantee as a functional member of this team, to include consultation, interventions, or accompanying other case managers on home visits, when indicated by suspicion of SSVF participant SUD use. - Will serve as a member of a multidisciplinary homeless program treatment team. - Will develop partnerships with community agencies, especially those serving homeless and SUD Veterans, with regular contact and communication. - Will provide liaison services with other programs referring homeless Veterans to SSVF to ensure continuity of care and promote successful transition of Veterans from one program to another. - Will participate in policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning discussions with SSVF Grantees and Homeless Programs. - Will provide appropriate clinical documentation for all contacts with or about Veterans. - Will be responsible for the collection of statistical data and for reviewing the data to improve performance and delivery of services to homeless Veterans. - Provides recovery -oriented treatment with the goal of establishing the Veteran independently in the community at the Veteran's highest level of functioning and quality of life. - The incumbent will conduct and participate in outreach activities including field interviews, assessments and referrals for homeless veterans contacted in the community, shelters, and "on the streets" with the SSVF Grantee. - Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Specifically, the incumbent has the experience and training required to perform assessments and evaluations, treatment plans, case management and SUD treatment, and interventions for early assistance in treating relapse in homeless Veterans with SUD and co-occurring disorder histories. - Ability to determine priority for services and provide specialized treatment services. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Work Schedule: M-Friday 0800 - 1630 Telework: Ad-hoc Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. b. 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. c. 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/.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.] (a) For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam, and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam. In states such as California, Washington, and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years, social workers must become licensed at the independent, master's level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure. (b) A social worker who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. (c) Different states have different levels of licensure or certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level. Each state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice. Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services, and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social worker's level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work. The ASWB offers three examinations. The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification, while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification. Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application. (2) Failure to Obtain License or Certification. In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.(3) 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. d. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403 GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-12 Senior Social Worker Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, applicants 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. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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, Part II, Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard. Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions. Employee is required to: walk and climb stairs, handle, finger, grasp and feel objects and equipment; reach with hands and arms; communicate; receive and exchange ideas, information by means of the spoken and written work; be mobile by oneself from place to place quickly and easily; repeat various motions with the wrists, hands and fingers; be able to have visual acuity for (including, but not limited to) administrative and clerical tasks. Maintains a valid driver's license and clean driving record. The incumbent's driving record will be reviewed through the California Department of Motor Vehicle's Employer Pull Notice (EPN) program annually to ensure Veteran and staff safety.

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 Northern California Health Care System 10535 Hospital Way Mather, CA 95655 US
• Name: Amanda Bodkin
• Phone: 925-356-5886
• Email: [email protected]