This position is located in the Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program (DRRTP) within the Veterans Care and Transitional Service at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX. The Domiciliary is a Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment facility which provides extended care to Veterans with complex medical, psychiatric, alcohol and drug abuse and homelessness problems.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: Developing and maintaining a therapeutic professional helping relationship with residents admitted to the Domiciliary Providing psycho-educational groups using a guidance model and applying experience and knowledge of problems Organizing and facilitating small groups of residents for development of problem-solving skills for return to independent living in the community Providing crisis intervention in situations of medical, psychiatric and/or behavioral in nature by assessing the situation and initiating action to secure medical care or police assistance Referring ill residents to Domiciliary Nurses during the regular work week, evening, nights, weekend, and holiday shifts Monitoring compliance with treatment plan requirements, Domiciliary regulations, and sobriety requirements for abstinence from alcohol and drugs Securing clothing and valuables from lockers of deceased patients, hospitalized patients, and individuals who departed on irregular discharge without proper clearance in accordance with current Domiciliary regulations Processing and evaluating any incident involving the injury or abuse of any resident Performing regular administrative functions, e.g. makes bed assignments, prepares and processing patients for clearance, and completes entries in communication log Providing information about admissions, discharges, and transfers to Administrative Officer on Duty daily for input into the database through the bed control option Utilizing delegated authority to take action should a patient fail to return from authorized absence at the designated time, e.g. irregular discharge, unauthorized absence if patient is incompetent, or review by Domiciliary Chief Maintaining clean, safe, and healthful environment for all patients assigned to the Section Conducting at a minimum, weekly, and monthly 100% Hazardous Items room and locker inspections for health, welfare, safety, and security purposes Conducting Section Meetings for all patients in assigned Sections to communicate information, to listen to patient concerns involving the entire section, and to inform patients about changes in Domiciliary or VAMC requirements Performing other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Rotating shifts to provide 24/7 coverage, 8:00 am - 7:30 pm and 7:30 pm - 8:00 am, with alternate weekends and holidays, subject to change to based on the needs of the Agency. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Social Services Assistant/PD03204A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/13/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs; Counselor in a youth summer camp; Instructor in a training program for the development of job skills; Work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew; Group activities leader in the Armed Services; Unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility; Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff in such fields as personnel (private or government), employment guidance in a vocational or academic institution, social service, or manpower development; Aid or assistant to professional or associate staff engaged in work of a social services nature in private, public welfare, government program, or community organizations, or in voluntary activities; Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. Note: This experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one (1) full year of graduate education. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailInterventionPsychologyVeteran and Customer Focus Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is carried out mostly in an office. However, the position regularly conducts inspections and supervises building cleanup, etc. Travel among different PODS is necessary. Occasional duties require lifting, carrying 50+ lbs., sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, kneeling, bending, stooping, twisting, pulling/pushing, simple grasping, reading above shoulder. Conditions during inspections and drills may also include heat, cold, excess humidity, work with chemicals, dust, noise, driving a vehicle, and fire manipulation. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

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 Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: Susan Reynon
• Phone: (808) 726-0496
• Email: [email protected]