Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Videos

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinates the Contract Adult Day Health Care (CADHC), Veteran Directed Care (VDC), Homemaker/Home Health Aide (H/HHA), and Home Respite programs.

• Provides advanced clinical social work services, case management, care coordination, psychosocial assessment, supportive counseling, crisis intervention, and advocacy for Veterans and their families or caregivers.

• Screens and evaluates Veterans for eligibility and appropriateness for home and community-based services and facilitates timely referrals and placement into appropriate programs.

• Develops, implements, and monitors individualized plans of care in collaboration with Veterans, families, caregivers, interdisciplinary teams, and community providers.

• Monitors Veterans receiving services through contracted community agencies and evaluates their continued need for services, progress toward treatment goals, and overall quality of care.

• Serves as a subject matter expert on VA and community resources, benefits, entitlements, and home and community-based care services.

• Leads and collaborates with multidisciplinary teams responsible for evaluating and monitoring contracted community home care agencies for compliance with established standards of care.

• Investigates and resolves concerns or complaints involving Veterans, families, caregivers, and community agencies and initiates appropriate action to ensure quality and continuity of care.

• Develops and implements program policies, procedures, practice guidelines, quality assurance activities, and performance improvement initiatives.

• Monitors program operations, documentation, workload, data, quality measures, expenditures, and compliance with applicable VA policies, regulations, and standards.

• Prepares and maintains accurate program reports, statistics, workload data, and other information required for facility, VISN, and national reporting.

• Collaborates with leadership regarding program resources, budgetary concerns, service needs, and the development or expansion of community contracts.

• Maintains effective working relationships with VA staff, community agencies, contractors, Veterans, caregivers, and other stakeholders to promote coordinated service delivery.

• Provides consultation, education, guidance, and support to staff, Veterans, families, caregivers, and community partners regarding available services and complex psychosocial needs.

• Provides supportive counseling to Veterans and caregivers coping with chronic or disabling illness, catastrophic illness, loss, grief, terminal illness, and changing levels of care.

• Performs rapid assessments and develops appropriate intervention and crisis management plans for Veterans experiencing medical, psychiatric, psychosocial, or safety-related concerns.

• Documents all Veteran and family contacts, assessments, interventions, treatment plans, and care coordination activities in the electronic health record in accordance with VA policies and professional standards.

• Participates in interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, committees, workgroups, performance improvement activities, and other program or service initiatives.

• Practices independently at the advanced level, exercising professional judgment and expertise in complex clinical and administrative matters involving Veterans and their families or caregivers.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 8:00 am- 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not available
Telework: Ad hoc, after 90 days
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 11094-F
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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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 tohttp://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 tohttp://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:Senior Social Worker, GS-12

(1)Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least 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.

(2)Licensure/Certification. 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.

(3)Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a)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.(b)Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c)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.(d)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.(e)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/.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12

Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds); light carrying (under 15 pounds); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking; standing; hearing (aid permitted). Ability to operate vehicles with frequent travel into the community is required.

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.