Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs•Tucson, AZ

38d•Onsite

About The Position

The position will be supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, at the Southern Arizona VA Medical Center in the Compensated Work Therapy program within the Mental Health Service. The primary purpose of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist is to provide a wide range of rehabilitation services to meet individual patients' needs, promote recovery from mental illness, and enhance independence and community integration.

Responsibilities

Determines the vocational interests for program participants and introduces them to other services such as job seeking skills training, resume development, or interview skills training that may be required.
Determines the extent to which the program participants possesses the knowledge, skills or abilities necessary to meet the guidance for expenditure of agency resources.
Analyzes mental and physical disabilities or other handicaps, in terms of the practical effects of such handicaps on motivations, adjustment to training, and difficulty in employment placement.
Engages the program participants in conversations about work, and introducing the idea of return to work activities.
Assists program participants with networking, contacts within the community, and members of their personal support group.
Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to ensure the patients' needs are being met and minimize any possible negative consequences.
Seeks opportunities to provide constructive feedback to program participants with the goal of improving the probability of obtaining community employment.
Networks in the local community with businesses and employers who are directly related to the interests and desires of the clients.
Supports clients in all work-related tasks, including but not limited to: transportation, on the job training, support with co-workers and supervisor negotiations, and compliance with specifications of appropriate clinical support.
Provides on-going support such as assistance with problem solving, developing interpersonal work relationships, maintaining work performance and quality, and life management activities.
Documents interactions with program participants and is responsible to connect them with the appropriate resources to facilitate ongoing employment in a community setting.