Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Fredericksburg (VA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

The Social Worker (Program Coordinator) at Fredericksburg Health Care System provides psychosocial assessments and case management to Veterans in outpatient settings under PACT and Specialty Outpatient Programs. The role reports to the Social Work Supervisor and supports the geriatrics/palliative care clinics.

Applicants must have an MSW from an accredited school, be licensed to practice social work, and meet citizenship and English proficiency requirements.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed or certified to independently practice social work at the master's level.
• One year of experience at the GS-11 level or equivalent preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychosocial assessments and case management to Veterans.
• Coordinate social work services within outpatient programs (PACT and Specialty Outpatient).
• Develop policies, procedures, and practice guidelines for the program.
• Supervise multidisciplinary staff and provide training and orientation.

Skills

Program coordination

Social work

Case management

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

Master's degree in social work

Job description

The Social Worker (Program Coordinator) works for the Fredericksburg Health Care System (FxHCC) in Fredericksburg, VA, as a direct report to the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) and Specialty Outpatient Programs Social Work Supervisor. This position provides psychosocial assessments and case management services to Veterans in an outpatient setting receiving care under Geriatric Evaluation or Palliative Care Clinic. 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.
• Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, typing, and carrying light items.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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/.
  • 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.
• Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title38 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.

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 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. 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.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a)
  • 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 provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare 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.

Reference

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS12.