Clarification from the agency

Open to ALL Current Permanent Department of Veterans Affairs (Agency) Employees, including Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and National Cemetery Administration (NCA); as well as West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System (Facility) Employees. Facility Employees will have FIRST consideration.

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The Social Work Associate will provide services in accordance with his/her limited scope of duties as outlined in the position description. They provide services to selected cases as referred by the appropriate team members with the HUDVASH Section under the Social Work Service and functions as a Community Resource Specialist (CRS).

Additional Duties Include But Not Limited To:

• Expedites treatments and implements objectives for the Veteran providing total social services to selected cases in which goals can be achieved by use of the knowledge, skills, abilities, in which s/he has been trained.
• Helps Veterans fill out applications/paperwork, forms (including but not limited to Advance Directives paperwork), gathering information, handling details around case management/care coordination including Veterans benefits, Medicaid applications, assisted living facilities and contract community nursing home placement.
• Initiates home health services, Community Adult Day Health Care services, etc. and collecting information including contact information about the Veteran's significant others are typical tasks.
• Conduct screenings as applicable.
• Completes necessary paperwork, providing support to the family and the Veteran as they struggle with the factors associated with a debilitating illness, are also typical tasks.
• Some of the principle duties and responsibilities of this position include: HUDVASH/specialty care social services, social work support, and case management/care coordination follow-up., usually done in the community at a Veterans place of residence, within our catchment area.
• Supportive services include but are not limited too: acquiring or following up on the acquisition of documents, reports, or information needed for social work treatment; making telephone calls or personal contacts on behalf of social workers to providers, nurses, families, community nursing home personnel, community agencies, significant others; follow-up with Business Office, veteran service organizations and community agencies regarding referrals to VA and community providers.
• In routine case management/care coordination cases, will take full responsibility for execution of tasks in support of psychosocial needs.
• Interviews the Veteran or the Veteran's caregiver either face to face, by telephone or in the Veteran residence within our catchment area to assess the need and develop a Veteran centered plan to meet the identified needs.
• Works independently, or in consultation with a social worker, provides or obtains information (including interviewing Veterans and families), and arranges for services which support the care plan.
• Documents all Social Work Associate activities in the Veteran's medical record in accordance with service and Medical Center policies.
• Investigates community resources and makes information about them available to social work staff.
• Keeps abreast of changes in the referral procedures for community services and makes social work staff aware of the new procedures.
• Participates in program planning and in the development of sound working relationships with Medical Center personnel, community agencies, and other governmental and community agencies.
• Will primarily be expected to: interview Veterans in the community within our catchment are to establish the nature and extent of their problems, assist in deciding the appropriate course of action, providing the services indicated in their scope, and providing follow-up to ensure continuity of care.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Social Worker Associate/PD03016A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
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
• 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period 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 probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/11/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and education s described below:

• Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English AND
• Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower level (GS-7) in the normal line of progression of the position. Specialized experience is experience in a program of direct social welfare services that required the application of program policy and operations knowledge in providing social welfare services and/or assisting social workers AND
• Experience: Two years of experience as a social welfare worker or social work assistant in a voluntary, public, social, or health agency, which must have included 1 year in a medical setting.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communication: Demonstrates ability to communicate with patients in both adult and geriatric categories.
• Interpersonal Skills: Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of others; adjusts approaches to suit different people and situations.
• Influencing/Negotiating: Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; works with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.
• Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: he work involves sitting, standing, walking and driving and is carried out either in the community or the confines of the office/work space provided.

Work Environment: Work will be done in HUDVASH team locations, other areas of the medical center or out in the community. Much of the work will be carried out in the integrated team work space. Works in proximity to Veterans and is therefore, occasionally exposed to communicable diseases. May also be subjected to hostile behavior during an interview and defensive maneuvers to protect self may be necessary. May be required to drive a government vehicle to other sites of care; community meetings; outreach events or other appropriate functions.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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 WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the 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.