Senior Social Worker (Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers) (PCAFC)

Veterans Health Administration • Tuskegee, AL

4d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. The CSP Senior Social Worker assists in the day-to-day operations of the Caregiver Support Program and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility and VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives. The incumbent collaborates with the other members of the CSP team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensuring equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, and ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The incumbent provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs as assigned. 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. The incumbent develops and facilitates caregiver support groups and educational programs and distributes educational materials provided by VA, local, state, and national caregiver organizations. The incumbent participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to assess caregiver stress/burden and the development/application of directed clinical treatment interventions. The incumbent provides caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the treatment of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress, and social needs. Professional judgment, including the knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior, is an inherent competency applied in daily interactions with caregivers and the Veterans to whom they are providing care. The incumbent is responsible for conducting regular home visits to Veterans and Caregivers participating in the PCAFC, responds to calls from the National Caregiver Support Hotline, responds to other phone calls and general inquiries regarding the CSP, and assists with general tasks associated with the program. The incumbent advises and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams throughout the medical center on caregiver issues. They are responsible for creating educational tools, developing programs, and implementing training focused on specific caregiver needs/issues and providing education and in-service training to VAMC employees, Veterans, families, and caregivers. They also provide ongoing consultation and support to colleagues regarding caregiver support services and issues facing Veterans, families and their caregivers. The incumbent demonstrates skill in communication and can develop positive, effective relationships with all CSP stakeholders including Veterans, caregivers, local, state, and federal agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations. They provide referrals 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. Other duties assigned.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• 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.
• Must submit transcripts (unofficial is sufficient) AND a license with your application.
• Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.
• Proficient in spoken and written English.
• At least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure.
• One year of experience must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• Experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment.
• Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice.
• 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.
• Must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• 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.
• Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid.
• 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).
• 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 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 10 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.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Assists in the day-to-day operations of the Caregiver Support Program.
• Ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility and VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives.
• Collaborates with other members of the CSP team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans.
• Ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to the Veteran population.
• Ensures the care provided is of the highest quality.
• Provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs as assigned.
• Serves 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.
• Develops and facilitates caregiver support groups and educational programs.
• Distributes educational materials provided by VA, local, state, and national caregiver organizations.
• Participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to assess caregiver stress/burden and the development/application of directed clinical treatment interventions.
• Provides caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the treatment of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress, and social needs.
• Conducts regular home visits to Veterans and Caregivers participating in the PCAFC.
• Responds to calls from the National Caregiver Support Hotline.
• Responds to other phone calls and general inquiries regarding the CSP.
• Assists with general tasks associated with the program.
• Advises and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams throughout the medical center on caregiver issues.
• Creates educational tools, develops programs, and implements training focused on specific caregiver needs/issues.
• Provides education and in-service training to VAMC employees, Veterans, families, and caregivers.
• Provides ongoing consultation and support to colleagues regarding caregiver support services and issues facing Veterans, families and their caregivers.
• Demonstrates skill in communication and can develop positive, effective relationships with all CSP stakeholders including Veterans, caregivers, local, state, and federal agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations.
• Provides referrals 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.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior