Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

Description:

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.

Requirements:

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 : The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following:

• 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 a master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going tohttp://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the 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-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/.
• 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.

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 : In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12:

• Experience and Education:
  • One year of experience is equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, 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 coordinators must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • 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.
• Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
  • Program coordinators at the GS-12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to:
    • Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program, and Community Nursing Home Program.
    • The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provides direct patient care services in the program area.
    • The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develops policies and procedures for program operation, and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use.
    • They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards, and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice, and service delivery.
    • The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service.
    • They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points, developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds.
    • The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for the facility, VISN, and national use.
    • They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff.
    • They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments
    • They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement, and evaluating the efficacy of improvement efforts.

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-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.