at Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration in Hines, Illinois, United States
Job Description
Summary The Senior Social Worker is the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Specialist for Homeless Programs. This position provides case management and intervention support to Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) Program in a team oriented, recovery-based program.This position is based at Hines in the Freedoms Path apartments. Responsibilities VA Careers – Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz\ua\UU Provides direct intensive SUD services for HUD-VASH in the Medical Center for Veterans with Chronic Substance Use Disorders. Position typically provides services to Veterans who are heavy users of community and VA services or have complex needs and issues. Provides Outreach services for HUD-VASH in the community. Provides training for other members of the multidisciplinary treatment team in areas related to SUD assessment, anger management, and life skills and SUD with co-occurring disorders. Independently conducts intake and needs assessment of homeless Veterans and their significant others. Identifies symptoms leading to clinical diagnoses of SUD. Provides all necessary assessment functions, e.g. interviewing, psychosocial histories, and SUD assessments to aid in the development of treatment plans. Develops comprehensive treatment plans with the Veteran that address the factors that contributed to homelessness, including SUD and other co-occurring factors within a recovery model framework. Works with the Veteran to realize the Veteran’s treatment goals, and reassesses and revises goals as indicated by the Veteran’s engagement in treatment. Organizes and conducts individual and group case management and SUD treatment, to include early interventions and supportive follow-up to ensure stability in home visits and facility-based contacts. Provides SUD support to the HUD-VASH team as a functional member of this team, to include consultation, interventions, or accompanying other case managers on home visits, when indicated by suspicion of HUD-VASH participant SUD use. Will serve as a member of a multidisciplinary homeless program treatment team. Actively involved in Intake Process (Admissions Screening Committee) to provide planning for Veterans will chronic Substance Use Disorder Diagnoses Will develop partnerships with community agencies, especially those serving homeless and SUD Veterans, with regular contact and communication. Will provide liaison services with other Substance Treatment programs referring homeless Veterans to HUD-VASH to ensure continuity of care and promote successful transition of Veterans from one program to another. Will provide case consultation to other Mental Health staff concerning HUD VASH, Housing First Model. Recovery Model, and Harm Reduction. Will participate in policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning discussions with other members of HUD-VASH and Homeless Programs. Developed group treatment programming to assist Veterans through Harm Reduction process. Will provide appropriate clinical documentation for all contacts with or about Veterans. Will be responsible for the collection of statistical data and for reviewing the data to improve performance and delivery of services to homeless Veterans. Provides recovery-oriented treatment with the goal of establishing the Veteran independently in the community at the Veteran’s highest level of functioning and quality of life. Serves on Hospital committees, Leadership committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility as deemed appropriate by the supervisor and Social Work Executive. Work Schedule: M-F 0800-1630 Telework: 1-2 telework days per pay period may be approved Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Pass a Driver of Veteran Physical Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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/. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). The incumbent must be equipped to be flexible and accept that work areas are often noisy, irregular, unpredictable, and stressful. Work is performed in a wide range of settings including the Veterans’ Homes, community agencies, Medical Center, community-based outpatient settings, group or family homes, or in transport vehicles (public or government). 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). Grade Determinations GS-12: 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 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. 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 pati
