Senior Social Worker

Summary

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. Program 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.

Duties

The purpose of this position is to serve as a Senior Social Worker, GS-0185-12, with the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Outreach Program at the VA Boston Healthcare System. This position if full-time at 40 hours per week. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Provides outreach to Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness in shelters, transitional housing, Safe Haven programs, VA emergency rooms, inpatient units, community locations, and other outreach settings. Identifies barriers to care and connects Veterans with appropriate VA and community-based services and resources. Conducts psychosocial assessments and develops treatment plans in collaboration with Veterans, families, interdisciplinary treatment teams, and community partners. Provides time-limited case management and psychosocial interventions to assist Veterans with stabilization and transition to the appropriate level of care. Coordinates community-based services and provides information, referrals, and consultations for VA and non-VA programs. Responds to National Call Center for Homeless Veterans referrals and completes required outreach, assessments, and referrals. Provides coverage for the HCHV Walk-In Clinic, assessing Veterans seeking housing assistance and referring them to appropriate resources. Conducts outreach to chronically homeless and vulnerable Veterans in coordination with VA staff, community partners, shelters, the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services, and the City of Boston. Serves as a primary point of contact with community homeless outreach teams, agencies, shelters, and other service providers. Gathers and updates information for the VA Boston By Name List to accurately identify and track Veterans experiencing homelessness. Collects, tracks, and reports program and administrative data using required tracking systems and spreadsheets. Assists with planning and coordinating homeless outreach events and community initiatives. Participates in case consultation and collaboration with community partners and other VA programs. Ensures program activities are carried out in accordance with applicable VHA handbooks, directives, and established program requirements. Performs assigned duties independently under the supervision of the HCHV Social Work Coordinator. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized. EDRP Authorized: : Authorized - Contact Karen Chapman [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions or assistance on how to begin the application process. Learn more. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). 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: Ad-Hoc only. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: F08646 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized. Notifications: These positions are AFGE Bargaining Unit positions. This position is in the Excepted Service. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. This position is covered by a special rate. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) will be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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: 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. 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. Note: 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 hhttp://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. Licensure/Certification: 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, 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. Experience: 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In ad