This Social Worker Associate position is organizationally aligned under Social Work Service in the Chief of Staff line at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The primary purpose of the HUD VASH Social Work Associate (SWA) is to move Veterans out of homelessness and support them in maintaining safe and stable housing in the community. The HUD VASH SWA's primary responsibility is to assist the HUD VASH staff with the administrative and clinical needs of the Veterans. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Performs a wide variety of duties in support of professional social workers, providing assistance and services as prescribed for individual cases by social workers, in conjunction with their professional treatment. Acquires or follows up on the acquisition of documents, reports, or information needed for social work treatment or case management. Makes telephone calls or personal contacts on behalf of social workers to providers, nurses, families, landlords, community agencies, significant others; public housing authorities. Performs home and/or community visits to supplement or assist with community integration and case management tasks with individuals and families who are facing serious and complex psychosocial problems. Serves as a liaison to VA, Public Housing Authorities, landlords, agencies, and developers in support of Veteran housing placement needs. Helps identify Veteran's housing preferences and barriers, and identifies strategies to overcome a wide variety of changing barriers. Reviews inspection standards and paperwork, communicating directly with Public Housing Authorities, landlords, and agencies regarding housing and services for homeless Veterans. Facilitates educational groups and community activities to support Veteran community integration and independent living skills development. Interviews Veterans via screening, intake, and/or referral processes and assists in determining the most appropriate course of action within their scope. document all social work service activities in the patient's electronic medical record in accordance with service and medical center policies. promote healthy and effective working relationships with co-workers, supervisors and other Medical Center Staff as appropriate. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am-4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicant(s) must possess all of the following qualifications: Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Bachelor's degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Two years of specialized experience as a social welfare worker or social work assistant in a voluntary, public, social, or health agency. One year of this experience must have been in a medical setting and equivalent to the next lower grade in Federal service. Specialized experience is experience in a program of direct social welfare services that required the application of program policy and operations knowledge in providing social welfare services and/or assisting social workers. AND SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SCREEN-OUT) - A Selective Placement Factor (SPF) has been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. Selective Placement Factor (SPF) - Screen-out: Requires a current and valid state Driver's License. (We cannot accept pictures. Please do not provide a copy of your driver's license. This requirement will be verified if interviewed.) A Quality Ranking Factors has been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. Quality Ranking Factors are skills, knowledge, abilities, or other worker characteristics which could be expected to result in superior performance on the job. Quality ranking factors will not be used for screening but may be used as ranking criteria. Applicants with higher proficiency levels may rank above those with lower proficiency levels on a quality ranking factor. The quality ranking factor for this position is: Do you have experience working with people experiencing homeless in a social service setting? IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing, or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant for appointment. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation may also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to: the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules. 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

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

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.

For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional Information
Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Contacts

• Address William S Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital 2500 Overlook Terrace Madison, WI 53705 US
• Name: Cindra Johnson
• Phone: 6086221070
• Email: [email protected]