Senior Social Worker HUD-VASH Housing Specialist

Full Job Description

The incumbent serves as the HUD-VASH Lead Social Worker and Housing Specialist for the HUD-VASH program at James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JHQVAMC).

The incumbent assumes the responsibility for the day to day coordination of case management, referrals, discharge planning, HOMES monthly compliance review, mentoring and train staff, and other duties as assigned.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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 Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.

Education - Candidates must 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.

Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.

Licensure - 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.

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: Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following: 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.

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 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.

Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.

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.

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.

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.

Preferred Experience: Licensed Clinical Social Work with at least two years of specialized experience post graduation from a Masters of Social Work program.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: All candidates must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others.

Candidates must meet the physical requirements outlined in Section II and Section VI of the OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions and must possess emotional and mental stability.

The job is sedentary but requires movement throughout the medical center. Major Duties:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The HUD-VASH Senior Social Worker is responsible for: Serves as the subject matter expert on the local housing market and collaborates with stakeholders within the JHQVAMC and community partner networks, including public housing authorities (PHA), community and government agency executive leadership, and corporation leadership to develop affordable housing options in the Mountain Home catchment area.

Conducts housing seminars and outreach services, in collaboration with Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and PHAs, to inform prospective landlords and property management groups about the benefits of leasing to Veterans experiencing homelessness.

Maintains an inventory of available, safe, affordable, and inspection-ready housing units.

Provides housing lists to Veterans experiencing homelessness and/or clinical staff working to assist Veterans with housing, functioning as the housing resource expert for those at-risk of homelessness.

Incorporates complex and multiple causation in differential diagnoses and treatments.

Independently conducts interviews and assessments for the purpose of program enrollment and to aid in the development of treatment plans.

Conducts home visits to remove barriers to access to care, support housing stability, and assess social and community integration.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 7:45am- 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized 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: Adhoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 61233F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized