Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

Full Job Description

This position is located at the Lebanon VA Medical Clinic in Lebanon, PA.

The Social Worker will serve as Caregiver Support Coordinator (CSC) whose primary responsibilities are to provide clinical evidence based services and interventions; program development; caregiver, Veteran and staff education on caregiver issues; community outreach; resource development; continuous quality improvement activities; and evaluation/consultation.

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. 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.

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.

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).

English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.

Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency.

Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.

Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.

Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.

Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://department.va.gov/employees/va-qualifications-standards/ The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position.

Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Major Duties:

Social Worker (Program Coordinator) is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and daily operations of the program.

Develops policies and procedures for program operation and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use.

The incumbent may be responsible for the program's budget and various control points assigned to the program within the assigned areas.

The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to these programs regarding day to day functioning and program evaluation.

In conjunction with the Service Chief, plans, organizes and directs administrative, operational, caregiver, Veteran and personnel activities for the service.

The Caregiver Support Coordinator is practicing at the advanced level and has specialized knowledge of practice that can be differentiated from the independent practice social worker by the ability to expand clinical knowledge in the profession, administer a facility program, provide consultation and guidance to colleagues, role model effective social work practice skills, teach or provide orientation to less experienced social workers, develop innovations in practice interventions, and provide clinical supervision for social work licensure or certification.

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Develops and implements the Caregiver Support Program specific to his/her area of assignment and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility and the VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives.

Administers information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of service provided to caregivers, families and Veterans.

Develops and implements information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, caregiver demographics, equipment utilization and caregiver and Veteran satisfaction.

Develops, implements, and evaluates clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization of services.

Participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to identify and assess caregiver stress/burden and the development and application of directed clinical treatment interventions.

Conducts caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress and social needs as treatment issues.

Provides referral to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs.

Serves as the major consultant for information on negotiating the complex processes caregivers, Veterans and families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies.

Stays abreast of current federal and state legislation directed at assisting caregivers to continue to provide caregiving in an environment that is safe for both themselves and the Veteran.

Collaborates with the patient aligned care team, mental health and geriatric primary care clinicians to provide Veteran and staff education on caregiver issues.

Coordination will include hands-on support group work involvement, and training of patient aligned care team clinical social work staff in the development and facilitation of such groups.

Performs additional duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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).

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

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: Authorized.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized