Jobs for People with MS: National MS Society

Summary This Social Worker is in Social Work (Guardianship) services at the VA Boston Healthcare Systems, located at the Brockton location. This position is a full-time at 40 hours per week. Responsibilities The incumbent assists in planning, developing, implementing, and overseeing all components of Social Work services provided in the Guardianship program. Duties include, but are not limited to: Supporting efforts of VA Boston staff discharging Veterans who require legal guardianship from inpatient stays to a variety of settings. Coordinating with Veterans, families, VA staff, and community stakeholders Interfacing with community and government agencies, providers, and admissions coordinators Providing education on Advance Directives, Guardianship, and Conservatorship Case management tasks, including the provision of VA and community resources Conducting risk assessments Facilitation of family meetings Oversee the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. Active participation in interdisciplinary care teams and meetings Assist Veterans, caregivers, and family members with guardianship concerns Work with the contracted law firm to ensure Veterans receive access to timely and comprehensive services Provide outreach and education to assist the Veteran, contracted law firm, VA staff, and other stakeholders Consult and coordinate with Privacy Officers, Release of Information, and Office of General Counsel on guardianship issues related to Veteran's privacy and the sharing of information Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Be knowledgeable of and have the ability to provide education on the process to assess decision making capacity Have an in-depth understanding of the state process on obtaining a legal guardian Manage all data related to guardianship cases Developing and maintain educational materials related to guardianship Report on patient and program indicators and contract performance measures Continually reviews and evaluates internal program operations for opportunities to streamline operating procedures to improve efficiency and overall program functioning. Provide clinical supervision for unlicensed Social Workers and when appropriate serves as a Field Supervisor for Master's level Social Work students. Provide consultation to other staff on the special needs of the population served. Develop and implement methods for measuring the effectiveness of the Program, utilizing evaluations to continuously improve the services provided. Track trends related to the services provided and prepare reports within specified deadlines. Manage the program's budget, develop and monitor staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. Provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. Utilize technology available to improve program functioning, resource databases and other information as necessary. Initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments. Assist in developing a data-driven, continuous quality improvement program with established goals and outcomes to evaluate and document the program's effectiveness. Identifies gaps in services and develops a plan, in consultation with the interdisciplinary team, that will make available the best possible resources in meeting the needs of Veterans. Oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Adhoc Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Virtual/Remote Work: Not Authorized Relocation, Recruitment, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) or Travel Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required NOTIFICATIONS: This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Travel and relocation expenses are not authorized. This position is in the Excepted Service. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) will be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/18/2025. 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: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 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 on the OHRM website. 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 3f. Grandfathering Provision: 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). 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. Grade Level Requirements: GS-12 Senior Social (Program Coordinator) Licensure Requirement: You must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. (1) Experience/Education. The candidate must possess one year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Examples of specialized experience at the GS-11 include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. (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. In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be able in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Applicants must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the applicant or others. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.