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Summary The Social Worker is the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Specialist for Homeless Programs assigned to the William "Bill" Kling VA Clinic in Sunrise, FL. They provide case management and intervention support to Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) Program in a team oriented, recovery-based program. The SUD Specialist provides continuity of care between Homeless Programs through services to Veterans with SUDs as they transition to HUD-VASH. Responsibilities The social worker provides on-going substance use case management and early treatment interventions to promote sustained stability and abstinence in HUD-VASH subsidized permanent housing. These Veterans are frequently homeless due to their SUD activities, so providing SUD treatment support and early intervention promotes recovery, improved quality of life and successful permanent housing. These Veterans are frequently also diagnosed with co-occurring mental health, physical health and social problems that require particular skill in early intervention and crisis management. The social worker must be able to develop appropriate professional relationships with the Veterans and meet the Veteran where he or she is ready to engage in treatment. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Providing direct SUD services for HUD-VASH in the Medical Center and providing outreach services for HUD-VASH in the community in person and via Tele-mental health. Conducting community-based home/field visits to formerly homeless Veterans who are admitted to HUD-VASH and are housed by one of the partnering Public Housing Authorities (PHA). Training other members of the multidisciplinary treatment team in areas related to SUD assessment, anger management, and life skills and SUD. Independently completing intake and needs assessment of homeless Veterans and their significant others. Identifying symptoms leading to clinical diagnoses of SUD. Providing all necessary assessment functions, e.g. interviewing, psychosocial histories, and SUD assessments to aid in the development of treatment plans. Developing comprehensive treatment plans with the Veteran that address the factors contributed to homelessness, including SUD and other co-occurring factors within a recovery model framework. Organizing and conducting 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. Providing 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. Developing partnerships with community agencies, especially those serving homeless and SUD Veterans, with regular contact and communication. Providing liaison services with other programs referring homeless Veterans to HUD-VASH to ensure continuity of care and promote successful transition of Veterans from one program to another. Participating in policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning discussions with other members of HUD-VASH and Homeless Programs. Providing 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. Traveling to Veteran's homes, their place of employment, community agencies, apartment searching, and PHAs are all within the scope of duties for this position. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday. Weekend/Holiday coverage required twice annually for Social Work Service; hours are 9:00am - 2:00pm. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives: 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). 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 # 30733F GS-11 Social Worker & GS-9 Social Worker 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 trial period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). 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: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Education: You must possess 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/. For assignments at the GS-9 level, VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. 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. GS-9 Social Worker Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. GS-11 Social Worker Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. OR, Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. These are the KSA's for this subject position: GS-9 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Ability to utilize counseling skills when working with Veterans and family members. Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology GS-11 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds. Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. 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 in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be 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. Incumbent 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 incumbent or others. Position requires walking throughout the Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) and the VAMC, walking to and from a veterans residence to a GSA government vehicle, and Public Housing Authority. The position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as preparing and analyzing data, transcribing, viewing a computer terminal, extensive reading and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. You must possess 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. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This occupation is listed on the OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration's Occupational Staffing Shortages fiscal year (FY) 2025 dated October 1, 2024. Therefore, this vacancy announcement is exempt from Veterans Preference. 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.