The Caregiver Support Coordinator assists in developing and implementing the Caregiver Support Program specific to his/her area of assignment and insures compliance and collaboration with local facility and the VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives. The incumbent works with other Caregiver Support Coordinators to administer information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of service provided to caregivers, families and Veterans. 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/. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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). Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Preferred Experience: Clinical Certification Minimum 2 year experience with Clinical Certification Mental Health Experience Grade Determinations: GS12 Senior Social Worker 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. 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. Advanced Practice Level: For all assignments above the full performance (journey) 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. Advanced Practice Level is defined as the ability to provide independent and expert clinical psychosocial and case management services in a specialized area of practice to Veterans who tend to have serious and severe crises, may lack any familial and community support, may be poor self-monitors, may frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or may have major deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. The advanced practice or senior social worker has an increased depth and breadth of practice skills; has expertise in participating in the professional development of colleagues through mentorship and teaching; demonstrates leadership in developing and expanding professional intervention strategies; demonstrates leadership in defining and attending to professional practice issues; and has the ability to expand the conceptual knowledge of the profession. The advanced practice or senior social worker will make independent professional decisions and recommendations for agency action; the consequences to the Veteran of these decisions and actions may be quite serious. Work involves intensive social work services requiring the exercise of mature professional judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of complex social work practice skills not typically required in routine social work interventions. The advanced practice or senior social worker has mastered a range of specialized interventions and provides consultation to colleagues, renders professional opinions based on experience and expertise, develops new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention, and incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment. The advanced practice or senior social worker utilizes outcome evaluations to further treatment and designs system changes based on empirical findings. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39 VA Qualification Standards. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. Physical Requirements: moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; walking/standing (up to 4 hours); near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing (aid permitted); mental and emotional stability; cognitive stability. ["DUTIES INCLUDE but are not limited to: Assists in developing and implementing information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, caregiver demographics, equipment utilization and caregiver and Veteran satisfaction. Assists in developing and implementing and evaluates clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization of services. Responsible for completing field based assessments in Veteran's home with ability to recognize safety in the home that includes environmental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects is critical. Participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to identify and assess caregiver stress/burden and the development and application of directed clinical treatment interventions. Advises and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams throughout the medical center on caregiver issues. Creates educational tools, assists in developing programs and implements training focused on specific caregiver needs/issues. Develops and facilitates caregiver support groups (face-to-face or telephone line) and educational programs. Conducts caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress and social needs as treatment issues. Professional judgment, including the knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior, is an inherent competency applied in daily interactions with caregivers and the Veterans they care for. Provides referral to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs. Provides referrals or consults, or in some cases direct admission of a Veteran to other VA programs including but not limited to the Respite Program, Community Health Care Coordination Program, Hospice, Home Based Primary Care, Telehealth and Community Nursing Home Program. Consultant for information on negotiating the complex processes caregivers, Veterans and families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies. Stays abreast of current federal and state legislation directed at assisting caregivers to continue to provide caregiving in an environment that is safe for both themselves and the Veteran. Maintains a knowledge base of current theory and treatment modalities by reading professional journals, attending conferences, clinic seminars and teleconferences, and materials distributed through VA and private sector sources. Collaborates with the patient aligned care team, mental health and geriatric primary care clinicians to provide Veteran and staff education on caregiver issues. Coordination will include hands-on support group work involvement, and training of patient aligned care team clinical social work staff in the development and facilitation of such groups in conjunction with the Program Manager. Develops and implements a library of caregiver support information material for distribution through the various inpatient/outpatient and specialty clinic settings. Educational material must be specific to the age group serviced in the clinic. Participates on state and local caregiver support committees. Assists in developing, implementing and fostering relationships with community partners to assist with system navigation, maintain collaboration and coordinate services. Assists in providing outreach presentations to community social service agencies, military Guard and Reserve units, Veteran Service organizations and other groups on VA caregiver benefits, programs and services. Provides consultation, guidance and expertise to community organizations regarding Veteran caregiver specific issues and needs. Promotes the VA Caregiver Support Program in coordination with the local VA Public Affairs Officer through interviews with local print, voice and television media. Maintains basic knowledge of local VA medical center programs, community services and VA Central Office caregiver support initiatives. Maintains knowledge of current federal and state legislation related to caregiver initiatives. Collaborates with other clinical staff and program managers to establish a Caregiver· Support protocol (resources, education, and training) sensitive to the issues of the Caregivers who are providing care to Veterans. Uses sound judgment in the interpretation of trends and patterns; the application of guidelines; and the recommendation of program enhancements. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:45pm\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 000000\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]