Career Center

Summary

Rehabilitation Counselors in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) work with persons who experience functional impairments and disabilities associated with mental health - physical - and/or psychosocial challenges affecting employment - independent living - or personal adjustment.

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:

• a
• Citizenship
• Candidates must be a citizen of the United States
• Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a)
• b
• Education
• (1) A master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a rehabilitation counseling program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
• If the applicant's degree was granted prior to July 1 - 2017 - the program must be accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education
• OR (2) A master's degree in counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
• OR (3) A master's or doctoral degree in a related field of study with course content that emphasized rehabilitation - counseling - disability - therapy - health - employment - wellness - or human development from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA
• OR (4) Foreign graduates with a degree acceptable by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC)
• c
• Certification
• Current - full and unrestricted certification as a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC) from the CRCC to practice vocational rehabilitation counseling
• (1) Exceptions for Graduate RCs
• (a) RC graduates from an approved counseling or rehabilitation counseling program who otherwise meet the basic qualification requirements and the additional degree requirements for CRC certification by the CRCC - but do not possess the required certification - may be appointed - pending certification - as a graduate RC on a full-time temporary appointment not-to-exceed two years under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(a)(1)(D) (b) Graduate RCs may only be appointed at the entry grade level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained
• (c) Temporary graduate RC appointments may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment
• (2) Failure to Obtain Certification
• In all cases - RCs must actively pursue meeting prerequisites for certification starting from the date of their appointment
• This includes working towards completion of CRCC's required acceptable employment experience and completing required CRCC documentation to verify employment experience and supervision by a CRC
• At the time of appointment - the RC supervisor will provide the RC with the written requirements for certification - including the time by which the certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline
• Failure to become certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0101 RC series and may result in termination of employment
• (3) Loss of Certification
• An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain the required certification must be removed from the occupation - which may also result in termination of employment
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• methods 4
• GRADE DETERMINATIONS
• In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• a
• Rehabilitation Counselor - GS-09 (1) Experience
• None beyond the basic requirements
• (2) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to meeting the experience or educational requirements for this grade level - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of human development and behavior - medical - psychosocial - and vocational aspects of disability and differential influences of environmental and cultural factors to assist persons with disabilities in determining suitable vocational goals
• (b) Knowledge of history - philosophy and disability rights legislation in the field of rehabilitation to apply in the practice of rehabilitation counseling
• (c) Ability to synthesize assessment and diagnosis information in conjunction with labor market trends and community/educational resources to develop an effective individual service delivery plan
• (d) Knowledge of caseload management strategies to maximize an individual's independent functioning from assessment through provision of post-employment services
• (e) Ability to employ person-centered job development strategies to facilitate successful job placement
• (f) Knowledge of assessment tools and - functional capacity evaluations and specific vocational preparation to evaluate transferrable skills - residual capacities and needs for accommodations and assistive technology
• Assignments
• Employees at this level serve as entry level RCs
• Provide vocational and personal adjustment counseling - case management and transferrable skills analyses to aid Veterans with severe disabilities in pursuit of their self-determined employment - educational and independent living goals
• Conduct assessments through record reviews - observations and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate and document personal - vocational and educational histories
• Customize evaluation of abilities - aptitudes - interests - values and preferences
• Assist Veterans in vocational exploration activities to include informational interviews and labor market research
• Examine the impact of employment income on Veteran's benefits
• In coordination with Veteran's interdisciplinary teams (IDT) - develop and amend patient-centered treatment plans utilizing specific - measurable - agreed upon - realistic and time-based (SMART) goals
• Promote employment programs to community employers to establish relationships that will result in providing work opportunities for Veterans with significant behavioral - physical - emotional and/or cognitive challenges under the general supervision of certified RCs
• Conduct outreach and job development to match Veterans strengths to local workforce needs
• Facilitate job placement for Veterans by teaching valuable job search skills - resume/application development - interview skills and basic computer skills
• Coordinate transportation to interviews/hiring events
• Complete job analyses to facilitate job coaching and retention services to aid Veterans in learning and maintaining proficiency in performance of essential job tasks
• Counsel Veterans regarding importance of soft skills (e.g
• personal hygiene - cooperation with coworkers - and following instructions) when employed to enhance job satisfaction and foster natural supports in the workplace
• Coordinate job search clubs for Veterans to improve in self-directed job search activities
• Complete clinical charting and participate in professional peer reviews
• Rehabilitation Counselor - GS-11 (1) Experience
• Completion of one year of professional experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled
• OR (2) Education
• A doctoral degree in rehabilitation counselor education or related field (e.g
• rehabilitation psychology) from a CACREP accredited institution or from an institution accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA
• (3) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of physical and psychological disabilities - appropriate accommodations and assistive technology principles to mitigate and reduce or eliminate barriers to integrate into the community.

Duties

• This is an open Continuous announcement
• to establish a standing register of qualified applicants to refer to the hiring manager
• Referral lists will be created on a weekly basis
• Please see the \"Next Steps\" section found under the \"How to Apply\" tab for information regarding cutoff dates
• Final disposition will be completed once the position has been filled or the announcement reaches the end of the open period stated in the announcement
• 2 Vacancies in the following locations: Brockton - and Jamaica Plains The incumbent serves as a journey level Rehabilitation Counselor - working in a residential setting on the Brockton campus - providing personal adjustment counseling - therapeutic rehabilitation interventions - and case coordination services - The Rehabilitation Counselor uses evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities to aid Veterans with severe disabilities - such as physical - psychosocial - psychological - or neurological barriers - to integrate successfully into the community
• The Counselor serves Veterans who have myriad barriers to overcome and achieve competitive employment - and educational - and independent living goals
• The Rehabilitation Counselor conducts assessments using medical records - pertinent disability documentation - observation and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate personal - vocational - and educational histories
• The Counselor selects - administers - and interprets vocational and other psychometric instruments to evaluate abilities - transferrable skills - functional capacity - labor market analyses - aptitudes - interests - values - preferences - and overall work resilience and synthesize into an interpretive data report
• The Rehabilitation Counselor customizes vocational exploration activities to identify self-determined rehabilitation needs and goals - and administers Measurement Based Care instruments to track progress throughout treatment and adjust goals and services as needed
• The Rehabilitation Counselor determines a clinical need for and capacity to benefit from therapeutic and rehabilitation services to include work restoration/resilience treatment - transitional work placement and/or competitive employment - assistive technology - financial benefits counseling and potential benefits protections
• The Rehabilitation Counselor develops patient-centered treatment plans utilizing Specific - Measurable - agreed upon - Realistic - and Time-based (SMART) goals and provides ongoing assessment of Veteran's progress
• The Rehabilitation Counselor provides a variety of professional rehabilitation counseling services such as personal adjustment counseling - therapeutic rehabilitation interventions and case coordination services - utilizing evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities and professional counseling practices to aid Veterans with severe disabilities in achieving competitive employment and educational and independent living goals
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 523-F2604 - 523-F2603 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required