The Social Work Program Coordinator 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 Social Work Program Coordinator 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 be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Acreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for the masters of social work. Licensure. Person 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 https://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grade Determinations: Social Worker(Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience and Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgement, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. Licensure/Certification: Individuals assigned as Social Worker Program Coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must meet the following KSA's. Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standard. 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. Preferred Experience: Homeless Case Management, Coordinated Entry, Homeless Community Partnership building. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-12. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.
Major duties include, but are not limited to: Attends and leads meetings and planning efforts which may include leadership roles within the CoC group. Provides direct linkage from community services to VHA homeless program services through regular and consistent outreach and communication with community providers. Participates in case conferencing process within the CoC's coordinated entry system to help inform and facilitate referrals to VA programs such as HUD-VASH, SSVF, HCHV CRS, and GPD. Develops partnerships with community agencies with regular contact and communication. Ability to independently conduct psychosocial assessments and provide psychosocial treatment to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. This requires knowledge of human development and behavior (physical and psychological) and the differential influences of the environment, society and culture. Serves 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. Provides clinical services and appropriate clinical documentation for homeless Veterans encountered through the community's coordinated entry system or other service access points. Advanced knowledge of VA and community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services with internal VA and external community providers. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: 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) 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. Functional Statement #: 000000 - Social Worker (Program Coordinator) Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized