Summary The Senior Social Worker in this position is responsible for the monitoring and coordination of services provided by the VA Community Nursing Home (CNH) Program. The VA CNH Program is vital in providing safe intermediate and skilled care for Veterans who are approved and funded for care in nursing homes that have established contracts or agreements with the VA. Responsibilities Major Duties: Provides case management at nursing homes with VA contracts or Veteran Care Agreements. Utilizes various treatment modalities of individual, group work, casework, community organization, and community outreach activities to alleviate or resolve problems that interfere with the funded Veterans' adjustment and optimal functioning in VA community nursing homes. Coordinates care including serving as an advocate on behalf of the Veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery and linking and referring Veterans to the VA Medical Center, VA Regional Offices and/or community agencies. Monitors the clinical care and assesses the compliance of the facilities receiving per diem funding for Veterans' care as described in the Integrated Veteran Care (IVC) Field Guidebook. Provides services and oversight of the VA Community nursing home facilities, assisting the Veteran, family/responsible party, and contract facility staff in developing realistic and understandable treatment, discharge and after care plans and goals, which are based upon the medical/surgical/psychiatric needs of the Veteran and his/her level of functioning, age, preferences, strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. Provides input to the VA Community Nursing Home Assessment/Review Team based upon his/her observations of the quality of care and benefit of care provided to the VA funded nursing home veterans in identifying deficiencies and making recommendations for corrective actions. Provides input to the Geriatrics & Extended Care Supervisory Social Worker & ACOS, Geriatrics & Extended Care as a result of inaction or insufficient actions related to the correction of deficiencies by nursing home facilities. Engages in coordination with community agencies, organizations, and groups as well as Medical Center and VA resources to meet the psychosocial needs of the Veterans and is able to utilize a variety of resources in implementing treatment, discharge, and aftercare plans. Actively participates in program planning and development, advising the supervisor of shifting trends with caseloads and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedure or policy changes based upon work experiences. Participates in the orientation/teaching of graduate social work students, students of other disciplines, and medical center personnel on the biopsychosocial needs of the Veteran and the impact of psychosocial problems on healthcare and adherence to the treatment plan. Takes responsibility for improving professional skills, participating in planning, and executing specific staff development projects, attending seminars and institutes, and participating in training programs of other disciplines as requested. Works with VA Medical Center multi-disciplinary teams and community agencies to optimize effective and efficient ways of delivering healthcare services to Veterans in the Community Nursing Home Program. Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications Basic Requirements: Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States. English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) Education- You must possess 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. License or Certification - You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Grandfather Provision. A Social Worker employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (9/10/2019) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. In addition to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following experience to qualify for this GS-12 Senior Social Worker position: Licensure Requirement: You 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Experience Requirement: You must possess 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. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.