Clarification from the agency

Open to all US Citizens. Veterans' preference is not applicable. All others, please apply to Announcement #CBSU-12967816-26-JEH NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Perform a comprehensive mental health assessment and comprehensive suicide risk assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the Veteran, family members and significant others.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients including geriatric patients related to their physical limitations, psychological needs and age associated illnesses and conditions.
• Performs DSM diagnoses, arranges for medication assessments with psychiatrists, coordinates care, makes referrals to VA or community resources, and recommends further treatment either within the mental health spectrum of care, to include admission, or to other specialty clinics/inpatient units in the VA Healthcare System.
• The social worker will develop a DSM diagnosis based on the assessment.
• Conducts timely assessment of at-risk Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs, evaluate risk and initiate referrals to the Suicide Prevention Team members when indicated. Social Worker will develop crisis management plans for admissions to mental health inpatient programs when indicated. Social Worker has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis.
• May provide individual and family psychotherapy and psychoeducational services. Social worker will practice at an independent and advanced practice level.
• The incumbent is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources. The social worker collaborates with other service providers concerning available resources and services. The social worker is responsible for educating Mental Health Intake Clinic psychiatrists and psychologists of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference.
• The social worker is responsible for using the current social work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of Veterans. The social worker will refer the Veteran to needed services. Develops working relationships and agreements with other organizations and community groups having similar service relationships with the same patient population.
• Understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the Veteran. When appropriate and feasible, educates and encourages the Veteran/family to advocate on his/her own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Incumbent is knowledgeable of available customer service provisions and informs Veterans and families of their rights within the VA.
• Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will, mental health preferences and refers Veterans to the appropriate clinic or agency for identified health education needs.
• Incumbent has the ability to provide consultation, training and orientation to colleagues, Social Work students and those requiring supervision for licensure.
• Enter all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates. This information will be entered in a complete, confidential, and professional manner to ensure information on the patient is shared with other VA staff. This information will be reviewed on a regular basis.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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)
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)
Telework: Situational (Ad-hoc)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 635-59893-A
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination/evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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:

• English Proficiency Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Citizenship Must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

Education:

• 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.

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 SW Licensure Summary by State https://www.aswb.org/licenses/how-to-get-a-license/licensing-requirements-by-state-or-province/.

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 title 38 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.
  • All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  • Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  • Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  • Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
  • If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.

Grade Determinations:

Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (Above the Full Performance Level)

GS 12 Education and Experience.

• Two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty.

GS 12 Licensure:

• Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

GS 12 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

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

This vacancy is a GS-12 position, which is above the Full Performance Level.

Physical Requirements: The work of the position is primarily sedentary. It may require some lifting (10-20 lbs) occasionally. Reaching above shoulder; Frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day); Sitting (4-7 hours per day); Walking (up to 6 hours per day); Standing (up to 8 hours per day); Infrequent climbing/descending of stairs; Some bending; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Correctable near sighted and far-sighted vision; Hearing (Aid permitted). Ability to complete a Basic Life Support (BLS) course is a position requirement

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Area of Consideration- Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.