Social Worker-Substance Use Disorder Specialist HUD-VASH
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Application
Details
Posted: 28-Apr-22
Location: Denver, Colorado
Salary: Open
Internal Number: 651176500
HUD-VASH is an intensive case management program for chronically homeless veterans aimed at providing psychosocial services to veterans while residing in stable housing through HUD's Section 8 voucher system. The incumbent is a professional social worker and functions as a Case Manager for the Eastern Colorado Health Care System's HUD-VASH Program. This program falls within the Homeless Program of the Care Management and Social Work Service Care Line. 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. 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. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in 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/ English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English. 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: 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. (2) 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. (3) 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. Preferred Experience: Subject matter expert- case management and homelessness References: VA Handbook 5005, Appendix G39. Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-185. Physical Requirements: This position provides direct services to patients and their families through casework. Incumbents must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain, corrective lenses permitted), keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially moderate levels of lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds). The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment ["The incumbent will work within the HUD-VASH program as a Substance Use Disorder lead. The incumbent will act as a consultant for HUD-VASH social workers who serve Veterans with complex substance use disorders.\nThe incumbent is also responsible for providing case management for a caseload of veterans in the HUD-VASH program who have high-risk substance use disorders. The incumbent will be expected to remain informed of best practices within the field of substance use disorders, and to work closely with the outpatient Substance Use Disorder staff within Eastern Colorado Healthcare System. The incumbent may be asked to provide trainings to staff related to risk assessment, CPRS documentation of risk assessment and best practices. The incumbent may accompany GS-9 and GS-11 social workers on home or community visits when the Veteran is presenting with substance use disorder, especially when the Veteran is at medical risk and/or risk of eviction due to substances.\nThe incumbent will model the advanced level of practice and provide consultation in complex Veteran presentations. The senior social worker will be assigned and independently manage more complex Veterans within their program area. This will be determined based on the Veteran's acuity, severity of condition, diagnosis or other programmatic guidelines as defined within the section they report to. The senior social worker will function as the subject matter expert in addition to functioning as a lead social worker for their assigned team. The senior social worker will perform at least one or more of the following; process improvement tasks, supervision of social workers for advanced practice licensure or the graduate trainee program, act as a mentor for less experienced social workers, participate or chair committees or groups that impact social work practice and/or lead roll out of evidence-based practices. The Senior Social Worker may be expected to act as surrogate to the Social Work Supervisor, for CPRS purposes, cosigning notes/consults/orders and providing clinical guidance when appropriate or necessary. The incumbent is responsible for reviewing agreements between Section 8, landlords, Public Housing Authorities and the VA in establishing appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements. The incumbent performs site visits of HUD-VASH apartments to ensure that veterans reside in safe environments in compliance with local housing codes. The incumbent verifies the veteran's status, eligibility for VA medical care, The incumbent is responsible for collecting and submitting HUD-VASH Program participant data as outlined by NEPEC evaluation procedures and HOMES. The incumbent is responsible for providing HUD-VASH case management. Case management is defined as the provision of services by VA clinical staff to homeless veterans and includes all activities to provide appropriate treatment to house and maintain veterans in HUD approved stable housing. The incumbent 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. The incumbent complies with criminal conflict of interest laws and Executive Branch Standards of conduct so as to avoid conflicts of interest while serving as the HUD-VASH Case Manager. The incumbent actively participates in the HUD-VASH Program conference calls and attends training offered by the HUD-VASH and HCHV program. The incumbent is responsible for following local policy and SOP for the Medical Center and the HUD-VASH Program. This includes following policies and documentation requirements as required for CARF and JCAHO accreditation. The incumbent 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. The incumbent 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. And all other duty's as assigned Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm\nCompressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 000000\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.