This position is the Senior Social Worker for the Home Health Aide (HHA) Program and is assigned to the Non-VA Care Division of the VA Boston Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) Service. The duty station of the position in Brockton, MA but travel to other facilities, community partners, and home visits are required. Applicants must be fully qualified by the closing date on this announcement. 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. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. ? 7403(f). 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 Master 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (1) 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. In addition, candidates must also demonstrate the KSAs of the full performance level (GS-11): (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. (c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Applicants must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the applicant or others. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Senior Social Worker for HHA has program coordination responsibilities including staff education, skilled care services, and in-home respite services and referral processes. The position will oversee and participate in HHA, Skilled Care Services, and In-Home Respite Services including program consults, authorizations, budgets, assigned and fund control points as needed. Duties and responsibilities of the Senior Social Worker for HHA include but are not limited to: Program Coordination: Participate in the development, evaluation and communication of standards, policies, and procedures, and plans of care. Educate medical center colleagues and/or students regarding programs. Assist with dissemination of information to other VA facilities and community partners. Track consults, authorizations, statistics, data management and identify significant findings. Prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN and national use. Coordinate, monitor and act on referrals, assessments, consults, tracking data bases specific to programs. Identify and develop program resources in the community and will serve as liaison with these providers. Provide program oversight to ensure quality care is provided by contracted agencies. Participate in research and research utilization. Screening/Assessment: Complete an initial screening of Veterans to determine eligibility for programs. Assist with the reassessment of Veterans on a regular basis to ensure they are receiving the appropriate level of service and remain in need of program support. Develop a treatment plan of the Veteran in collaboration with the referring team, the Veteran, family members and caregivers. Conduct assessment of Veterans participating in other GEC programs as needed including telephone contacts, facility visits, and home visits as needed for recommendations regarding patients and family members' eligibility for continuation in the GEC programs. Assist referring clinical teams in treatment planning process and goal setting. Collaborate with Office of Community Care and Finance department to ensure efficient and timely payments are made for services rendered under the appropriate coding systems. The Senior Social Worker for HHA also has responsibilities in the following areas: Referral to Service Providers Resource Development Advocacy Crisis Intervention Education/Health Promotion and Prevention Coordination of Non-Institutional and Institutional Services Supportive Counseling Work Schedule: Full time=, Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30pm (other day tours may be available) Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 523-F6424 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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