Summary
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.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
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The Social Worker - Caregiver Support Program is assigned to the Caregiver Support Program with primary responsibilities to provide clinical evidence-based services and interventions; provide caregiver, Veteran and staff education on caregiver issues; engage in community outreach and resource development; continuous quality-improvement activities, and evaluation/consultation and assists in the day-to-day operations of the Caregiver Support Program specific to the area of assignment and insures compliance and collaboration with local facility and the VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives.
Duties and Responsibilities include:
- Participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to identify and assess caregiver stress/burden and the development and application of directed clinical treatment interventions.
- 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.
- Develops and facilitates caregiver support groups (face-to-face or VANTS 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.
- Provides referrals to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs.
- Serves as a consultant for navigating the complex processes caregivers, Veterans, and families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies.
- 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.
- Participates in caregiver support activities in the local community and state to promote and recognize the role of the caregiver. Participates on state and local caregiver support committees.
- Provides consultation, guidance and expertise to community organizations regarding Veteran caregiver specific issues and needs.
- Assists in coordinating events and programs for the annual National Family Caregivers Month in November, which includes announcements and advertising of month-long activities, mobilization of participants, educational sessions, caregiver recognition events and caregiver support programs.
- Assists in collecting and analyzing local data for reports local management, the VISN Caregiver Support Coordinator Lead and the National Caregiver Support Program, Care Management and Social Work Service, Office of Patient Care Services.
- Evaluates program progress and outcomes and utilizes data to continuously modify and improve the program and processes.
- Performs other duties as assigned
VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm EST.
Compressed/Flexible:Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHAVISN04HREDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Requirements
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Conditions of employment
- You 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.
- An active Driver's License is required.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
- 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. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
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/. PLEASE NOTE: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified.
- English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
Failure to Obtain License or Certification. In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
Loss of Licensure or Certification. 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.
Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.
- All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
- Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
- Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
- Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
- If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.
DRIVING REQUIREMENTS The work is primarily community-based. Consequently, the incumbent must operate a government vehicle to visit Veterans in the community and periodically transport Veterans in the Government vehicle. Incumbent must pass all VHA requirements to operate a government vehicle prior to transporting Veterans.
Grade Determinations:
Social Worker, GS-0185-09
- Experience, Education and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
- Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
- Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
- Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
- Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
- Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.
- Experience. In addition to the experience above, specialized experience includes but is not limited to: identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation; providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning; providing social work case management; acting as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver; assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veter
