Clarification from the agency

Open to Current, Permanent, Greater Los Angeles Department of Veterans' Affairs VHA employees only.

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provide a wide variety of social work services to Veterans from diverse backgrounds under the supervisor's guidance.
• Conduct thorough psychosocial assessments of Veterans and/or families to determine needs and functioning.
• Coordinate care and case management services from admission to discharge, including developing appropriate discharge plans.
• Facilitate collaboration between Veterans, families, and interdisciplinary teams for discharge planning.
• Educate and consult with Veterans and families on community resources, VA benefits, and advance directives.
• Advocate for Veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery and referrals to VA or community agencies.
• Provide consultation to team members regarding psychosocial needs and their impact on care planning.
• Participate in clinical supervision and meet requirements for licensure under a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
• Assist in program planning and development by identifying trends and recommending process improvements.
• Maintain accurate documentation and complete required reports per VA policies.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00a.m. - 4:30p.m.
Telework Eligible: In limited circumstances at the discretion of the supervisor and based on VA approved guidelines
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
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.
• 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:

• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States
• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Education: Must have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). 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 licensedor certified by a state to independently practice social work at the Master's degree level.

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).

Licensure Exceptions: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level.

For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, 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.

Grade Determinations GS-09: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade.

Social Worker, GS-09 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• Experience Education and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
  • 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.

Social Worker, GS-11: This is the full performance level. Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. 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.

OR

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.

Additionally, candidates must hold a licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level and demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities(KSAs):

GS-11 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• 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, 8 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/.

Preferred Experience:
1. Experience providing mental health and SUD services to individuals.
2. Experience delivering evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for PTSD (e.g., Cognitive Processing Therapy [CPT], Prolonged Exposure [PE])
3. Experience facilitating trauma-focused group and individual therapy.
4. Ability to work effectively with a multidisciplinary treatment team.
5. Ability to work with individuals who present with complex psychosocial needs.
6. Experience with crisis management, care coordination, and discharge planning for individuals with complex behavioral health needs.

Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light lifting (under 15 pounds); light carrying (under 15 pounds); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking; standing; hearing (aid permitted).

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.