The primary role of the VA Liaison is to ensure the transfer of health care, both inpatient and outpatient, from the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) to the appropriate VA health care facility. The VA Liaisons must work on-site at the MTF with staff, Servicemembers, families, Caregivers, and Veterans to ensure priority access to needed health care services and education regarding VHA benefits. The VA Liaison is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/03/2023. 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 may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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. Physical Requirements. Please see "Physical Requirements" listed above. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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 Determination Senior Social Worker, GS-12: 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. Specialized experience includes 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. 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. Licensure/Certification. 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. 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. 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 dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. ["*** Bargaining Position *** The incumbent works closely with the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) treatment team as an independent practitioner. The incumbent will use advanced practice skills and expertise to provide ongoing consultation regarding complex discharge planning issues. The incumbent assists with navigating and providing education on VA health care benefits, resources, and facilities. Such skills require an intimate knowledge of VHA programs and services nationwide and the ability to match Veterans' needs with appropriate resources. The incumbent develops relationships and collaborates with the MTF social workers, nurses, case managers, managed care staff, and discharge planners to identify Servicemembers and Veterans ready for discharge to a VA health care facility. The incumbent will obtain clear referral information and authorization for VHA to treat those still on active duty. This referral needs to: Include the MTF Medical Records; VA Referral Form (entitled Military Treatment Facility Referral Form to VA Liaison); Admission Sheet; Clinical and Consult Orders; or other authorization for VHA to provide services and bill TRICARE or other appropriate entity through a VA-DOD Sharing Agreement. Clearly identify the Servicemember's/Veteran's health care and psychosocial needs and include requests for VHA health care services to ensure Clinical and Consult Orders or authorizations, specifying which VHA services are authorized and are completed prior to the transfer of any Servicemember(s)/Veteran(s) to a VA health care facility. The incumbent meets with the Servicemember/Veteran and his/her family to provide education and an overview of VA health benefits and resources, and to address current medical and psychosocial issues identified as part of the Servicemember's/Veteran's treatment plan. In collaboration with the MTF treatment team, the incumbent must use advanced clinical skills to assess the Servicemember/Veteran and family's psychosocial situation, their ability to comprehend and comply with VA's treatment plan determined by the MTF staff, and any special needs of the Servicemember/Veteran and family that may impact reaching optimal psychosocial functioning. The incumbent coordinates with the VA Liaison's home VA health care facility Enrollment Coordinator and Military to VA (M2VA) Team, to initially register active duty Servicemembers or enroll Veterans at their facility utilizing the referral information. Registering active duty Servicemembers and enrolling Veterans in the VA computer system eases transfer of care to the VA health care facility. Senior Social Worker must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Preferred Experience: Working with multiple electronic medical records and databases Working with medically complex Veterans Skills in crisis intervention and suicide risk assessments Experience in providing briefings to different populations Excellent communication skills Knowledge of VA programs Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds."]

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