The Social Worker practices in the Contract Nursing Home Program. The incumbent functions at the full performance level which requires completion of a minimum of 1 year of post-MSW degree experience and to qualify for GS-11 you must be a licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. 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. 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. Current state requirements my be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hyrid. Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade 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). Grade Determinations: GS: 09 Experience, Education, and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. GS-11 Experience and Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. Education: In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. 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. 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. 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. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Major Duties: The incumbent independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs. The incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups. The incumbent independently conducts psychosocial assessments. He/She develops treatment plans in collaboration with the patient/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. The incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measure outcome to interventions. The incumbent is able to coordinate community based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA government, and community agency programs. The incumbent independently identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services. He/She provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint. He/She coordinates family conferences, and serves as a liaison to family members. The incumbent has working knowledge and experience in the use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures; this includes acute, chronic and traumatic illness/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. The incumbent establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with patients and their families. He/she is able to independently work with patient and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual , group and family counseling and therapy skills. The incumbent independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans and the impact of psychosocial problem on health care and adherence to treatment plans. He/she has the ability to evaluate his/her own practice through professional peer review, case conference and other organization means. The incumbent is able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with people from varied backgrounds. The incumbent has a general knowledge of veterans' benefits and services relating to special programs, service connected compensation, and non-service pension. He/she facilitates referrals based upon patient's needs and eligibility. The incumbent participates in the yearly VA CNH program reviews and must have a good knowledge of Centers for Medicare/Medicaid standards concerning CNH programs. He/she is also responsible for the monthly follow-up to veterans in the CNH facilities. He/She participates in the annual inspection of established facilities in addition to the inspection process of new facilities. He/She participates in quality assurance monitors related to the program. He/She is responsible for reporting and investigating Sentinel/Adverse events to the local medical center, VISN, and Central Office. The incumbent provides both informal and formal education to VA staff as well as community nursing home staff on any changes in VA policy concerning their specific programs. The incumbent performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30 am-4:00 pm Telework: Eligible, Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 0000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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