Summary The primary role of the Transfer Center Social Worker is to ensure the transfer of health care from other VA Hospital and community hospitals, to the appropriate VA or Non-VA health care facility. The Transfer Center Social Worker will work within the Fayetteville VA Transfer Center with a multi-disciplinary staff, to ensure priority access to needed social work services. Responsibilities VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz\_ua\_UU VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U\_xC25QsN0w Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional a. Working closely with the Transfer Center Team, as an independent practitioner, using social work skills, and providing expertise to provide ongoing consultation regarding discharge planning issues, resources and facilities, the incumbent will act as liaison between the FNC Transfer Center, other VA Medical Centers and community hospitals to facilitate and ensure safe and quality discharge planning services by matching Veterans' needs with appropriate resources. b. Developing relationships and collaborating with community and VA Hospital social workers, nurses, case managers and discharge planners to identify Veterans ready for discharge and to obtain clear referral information and applicable authorizations, referral needs to: Clearly identifying the patient's health care and psychosocial needs and requests for services are completed prior to the transfer of any patient to the FNC VA Medical Center or community placement. Meeting with family members, when indicated, to provide education and an overview of VA health benefits and resources to address current psychosocial issues identified as part of the Veteran's discharge plan. The incumbent must use advanced clinical skills to assess the patient and/or family's psychosocial situation, their ability to comprehend and comply with VA discharge plan and any special needs of the patient and/or family that may impact reaching optimal discharge outcome. Identifying and communicating with receiving facility to initiate the process referrals and linkages for transfer of care. c. The work assignments require an interdisciplinary, integrated approach and collaboration with other agencies and departments. The issues are interrelated as the work involves planning affecting many areas will require: a. Assisting in assessing and improving the quality of services provided by Transfer Center Team to seamless transfer and discharge activities. Work affects many clinical programs and many sites of health care delivery, therefore, continuous evaluation of processes and procedures and assisting in developing and implementing seamless policies and procedures, program resources and functions, will assist in the complex coordination and implementation of seamless transfer discharge planning. d. Documenting all Transfer Center Social Work in the Computerized Record System (CPRS) in the nationally standardized templates e. The incumbent will address Advance Directives in accordance with the standards of their work area. f. The incumbent will as appropriate, supervise the practice of social work students, or a less experienced social worker. g. The incumbent will participate in committee assignments. h. The incumbent will maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with Joint Commission, VA and medical center policy and procedures. i. The incumbent willingly accepts additional and specific assignments that are necessary to meet program goals or customer needs. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. 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) 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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/. 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: Social Worker, GS-11 (1) 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. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c. OR (2) 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. Preferred Experience: Case Management, Nursing Home and Long Term Care Placement, Community resource knowledge. The practice of the transfer Social Worker is based on knowledge, and experience in Social Work and in case management and discharge planning. 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. 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. 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.