The incumbent primarily serves as the Social Work Associate to the Homeless Veteran Comprehensive Program (HVCP), located within the Social Work Service (SWS) at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas.

Duties

Determines if the veteran has enrolled in the VA and if not provides the veteran with instructions on enrollment. Ensures documents are forwarded to patient services and chart is opened. Assist Veterans with obtaining and maintaining documents necessary to access Homeless Veteran Comprehensive Program (HVCP) including HUD-VASH and complete the PHA voucher application process. Screen and interact mostly with homeless individuals from various racial/ethnic backgrounds and special sub-populations. Provide ongoing follow up to Veterans based on guidance from the case management team and identified care needs. Perform preliminary intake and screening interviews to determine the level of problems contributing to homelessness and distress, and the most pressing psychosocial problems. Provides supportive services to homeless Veterans and their families. Aids with completing documents, forms and applications to apply for assistance with Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF), the PHA/Section 8 application for a housing voucher and other community resources documents as needed. Provides supportive counseling during emotional crisis to homeless Veterans and family members. Assists the Social Worker in implementing treatment plans for homeless Veterans. Provide information to homeless Veterans about Agent Orange, PACT and Persian Gulf Registry Programs and appropriately refers to these programs. Triages incoming calls and inquiries regarding the transfer of homeless Veterans from outside facilities to VAMC. Triages homeless Veterans coming into the office for various problems and referring them to VA and community resources as appropriate. Performs work involving the collection, compilation and/or tracking of data and statistical information in support of the organization's Homeless Program and Non-Institutional programs. Responsible for tracking all Veterans who have applied for HVCP Programs. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, subject to change based on the needs of the Agency Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Social Worker Associate/PD04077A 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, 03/18/2024. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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 education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Home and community visits with clients and providers, presentation/trainings, supportive groups, networking in the community, filling out forms, gathering documents, entering data. Driving vehicles to transport Veterans to resources. Note: This experience must 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. Education: Applicants must have completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study such as social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Information ManagementInterpersonal Skills 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: Requires walking throughout the MEDVAMC, offsite homeless locations, standing, bending, stooping and carrying items such as books, papers, and files. Must possess a current and unrestricted driver's license. Have the ability to drive in the community on freeways, highways, and surface streets in moderate to heavy traffic for several hours a day from moderate to high distances as needed. Incumbent shall adhere to all VHA/MEDVAMC directives and training requirements when operating a government vehicle to carry out official duties when deemed necessary. Physically being able to lift and carry objects up to 40 pounds. Working in the community in extreme heat or cold. Walking a moderate to high distance to complete required tasks. 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 as 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]