The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System consists of two inpatient campuses located at Little Rock and North Little Rock, AR. Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas, located in the central part of the state. Little Rock has earned a reputation among history buffs, foodies and art lovers as an exciting place to live. Residents can spend their weekend exploring the historic Arkansas State Capitol, wandering through the Arkansas Art Center or enjoying, the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

Duties

Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf The Justice Outreach Social Worker is a Senior Social Worker whose specialized responsibilities are primarily targeted to Veterans involved in the Justice System and to the development of Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) to address the needs of Justice involved Veterans. Justice Outreach Social Workers include Veterans Justice Outreach and Health Care for Re-Entry Veterans collectively known as Veterans Justice Program (VJP) Specialists. The VJP Specialists engage in psychosocial assessments along with case management, continuous quality improvement, clinical evaluations, consultation, placement in residential treatment, referrals and linkage to various community agencies for Veterans who are within six months of release from correctional institutions and are being monitored by the courts. The Justice Outreach Social Worker is administratively responsible for clinical programming and daily operation of the program, as well as the management of program data. Justice outreach focuses on justice-involved Veterans in one of three circumstances: 1) at the front end of the justice system in jails or courts (VJO); 2) prison reentry (HCRV); or 3) a hybrid model encompassing jail, court and prison outreach (hybrid VJO/HCRV).The Senior Social Worker in this position requires an advanced level of knowledge and understanding of the services and benefits available from community, state and federal agencies. The Senior Social Worker must have skill in diplomacy, patient advocacy and negotiations spanning boundaries of multiple large institutions including VA, Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Transportation (DOT), Social Security, the courts and/or corrections, as well as skill in working with community residential treatment providers. The position requires knowledge of correctional cultures and their impact upon Veteran, institutional, and community perceptions and behavior. The VJP Social Worker must be skilled in assisting Veterans with adopting behaviors adaptive to community living and reintegration into society in general and reintegration into the workforce if indicated.The Justice Outreach Social Worker at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) functions under the guidance of the Program Manager of the Comprehensive Homeless Center (CHC) and the Coordinator of the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program, performing administrative, Veteran-Centered and quality based coordinated care for the program. The VJP Social Worker also works closely with VA and non-VA employment providers to assure access and ongoing employment services as needed. The duty station for the Senior Social Worker is assigned to the Comprehensive Homeless Center located away from the main campuses of CAVHS in the downtown Little Rock Community. The nature of the work performed requires frequent community field work requiring a high level of autonomy and independent social work practice. The Justice Outreach Social Worker is licensed at the advanced practice level and able to perform duties consistent with the qualification standards for a senior social worker. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 3:30 pm; One tour per week from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm Compressed/Flexible:Not available Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: Selectee continue at current rate of leave. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 598-00484 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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. 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. 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. 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 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. Examples of creditable experience include but not limited to independently assess psychosocial functioning, facilitate treatment plan with interdisciplinary team, provide case management and care coordination, links patient with services, resources, and opportunities, conducts assessment of at-risk patient to identify immediate needs, provides interventions independently for patient and families/care giver, provide range of interventions and treatment modalities, and provide consultation to staff about psychosocial needs of patients. Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit. 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. 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. (KSAs must be clearly reflected in resume under description of duties in order to be found qualified for this position/grade level). Preferred Experience: Prior experience with the Criminal Justice System is preferred. Will accept prior experience with Veterans experiencing mental health concerns, substance use, and/or homelessness. Applicant must meet the requirement for driving a government owned vehicle. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The position is above full performance level, GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds), use of fingers, both hands required, walking and standing (up to 8 hours), hearing (aid permitted), independently operate a motor vehicle.

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 John L McClellan Memorial Veterans' Hospital 4300 West Seventh Street Little Rock, AR 72205 US
• Name: Krista Smith
• Phone: 501-274-6635
• Email: [email protected]