The Senior Social Worker is the Coordinated Entry (CE) Specialist for Homeless Programs. This position enables VA homeless programs to fully collaborate with the community, including the Continuum of Care (CoC) and community partners, in the coordinated entry efforts in that community. The Senior Social Worker has experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgement in clinical services for homeless 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 the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work. Licensure. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Grade Determinations/Minimum Qualifications for GS-12 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: 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be able to exercise a high degree of emotional and mental discipline at all times in order to continue to carry out duties effectively. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Functions: A. Participate in CoC meetings and planning efforts which may include leadership roles within the CoC group. 2 B. Provide direct linkage from community services to VHA homeless program services through regular and consistent outreach and communication with community providers. This includes, but is not limited to, direct linkage to VA mental health services for those Veterans who are at high risk for suicide. C. Participate in case conferencing process within the CoC's coordinated entry system to help inform and facilitate referrals to VA programs such as HUDVASH, SSVF, HCHV CRS, and GPD. D. Ensures efficient sharing of Veteran data and program information, as allowable under VA Privacy and Information Security policies and Directives. This will include knowledge of HMIS and HOMES data standards, data sharing and privacy authorities, HUD guidance, and other applicable documents or established guidance. E. Participate and contribute to a CoC level resource-and-demand analysis, including periodic review of the gaps to determine inflows/outflows, and make recommendations to VHA homeless program leadership on adjustments to resource allocations within coordinated entry based on this analysis. F. Provide support to the VA homeless program teams as a functional member of the team, to include participation in outreach activities and subject matter consultation on community involved interventions for homeless Veterans. G. Serve as a member of a multidisciplinary homeless program treatment team to link treatment team discussions to the community's case conferencing discussions, ensuring continuity of care for Veterans experiencing homelessness in addition to complex physical and mental illnesses, including those at risk for suicide. H. Provide all necessary assessment functions in the service provision for homeless Veterans, e.g. interviewing, psychosocial histories and assessments to aid in the development of treatment plans as well as case conferencing discussions and planning. I. Develop partnerships with community agencies with regular contact and communication. J. Participate in policy formulation with federal partners, including VA, HUD, and USICH who have active initiatives to promote CES and community planning. The incumbent will work with local VA programs, with a special focus on HCHV, HUD-VASH, GPD, and SSVF to ensure broad-based participation in CES and community planning. K. Provide appropriate clinical documentation for all contacts with or about Veterans who are engaged through outreach services. Provide clinical services and appropriate clinical documentation for homeless Veterans encountered through the community's coordinated entry system or other service access points. M. Ensure timely and accurate entry into VA data systems such as HOMES and the review the data to improve performance and delivery of services to homeless Veterans and ensuring that this information is shared (in a manner consistent with VA information sharing directives) so that community Master or By-Name Lists are up-to-date and complete. N. Provide recovery-oriented and housing first services, with the goal of establishing the Veteran independently in the community at the Veteran's highest level of functioning. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm; some evenings and weekends Telework: Available"]

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