Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. citizens. *** If you ARE a current permanent federal employee, please apply to the Internal Announcement CBSU-13088207-27-MR*** NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

Videos

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

-Receives and completes consults from interdisciplinary teams and other social workers on complex, difficult cases, using advanced practice skills and expertise. Incumbent also provides consultation to referral sources and is responsible for developing and maintaining professional standards of practice and educating others regarding such.
-Completes psychosocial assessments; interviews veteran and family members and/or significant others to establish facts about the veteran's unique situation.
-Develops an assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment teams, the veteran, family members and significant others, whenever possible.
-Develops psychosocial treatment plans in collaboration with the HBPC interdisciplinary team, including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment. The social worker uses known available resources and the initial assessment of the veteran's likelihood to accept differing types of assistance to make initial and continuing decisions regarding use of VA and non-VA services and referrals.
-Provides independent consultation and makes recommendations to the interdisciplinary team regarding the course of treatment.
-Provides the patient, caregivers, and/or family members with ongoing supportive counseling.
-Participates in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate.
-Provides individual, family and group counseling as appropriate.
-Provides consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits.
-Acts as a consultant to other team/staff members.
-Provides consultation/education to medical residents on social work practice and
VA policy and procedure.
-Acts as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed.
-Provides case management to veterans and families, as needed, throughout the continuation of care.
-Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate.
-Provides wellness/prevention education and facilitate Patient/family support groups as appropriate.
-Coordinates treatment and communicate with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for veterans.
-Participates in committee assignments, as deemed necessary by the service manager.
-Maintains data and statistical compilations to comply with JCAHO, VA and medical center policy and procedures.
-Assists patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness and death.
-Documents social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care.
-Completes Suicide Risk assessments and assists Veterans with developing Suicide Safety Plans, consults with and keeps the Suicide prevention Office informed as appropriate for Veterans considered at risk for Suicide.
-Acts as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran/family.
-Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans to maintain the veteran in a medical foster home. In the event of an alleged abuse case, medical or psychiatric emergency, the medical center policy will be followed.
-Ensures the interdisciplinary team is kept informed of any concerns with the patient and/or caregiver.
-Serves as the Social Worker for the HBPC Team completing assessments, meeting with veterans in their places of residence.
-Provides other professional services as assigned by the HBPC Program Director or designee.
- Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with employees, volunteers, consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies.
- Collaborates in the performance improvement processes and comply with performance measures as required by the VHA for the MHICM and for Social Work Service. This work will include referring cases for Protected Peer Review and Intensive Case Review. The Social worker will participate in activities that obtain feedback from clients and work to enhance services as needed.
-Attends all meetings (weekly interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, Social Work staff meetings, assigned committees, etc.) and perform other duties as required by HBPC/GEC Service Line.


Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 730am to 4pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 59360-A
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.
• 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

*** This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until 12-28-26. The initial cutoff date for referral of eligible applications will be 10-20-26. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as needed basis until positions are filled. ***

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 to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the 3 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 to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)

Grade Determinations:Senior Social Worker, GS-12

• 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.
• 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.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates 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/.

Physical Requirements: This position provides services to patients and their families. Incumbents must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain, corrective lenses permitted), keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position may require reaching above shoulder-length height and requires potentially moderate levels of lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds). This position requires long periods pf sitting, standing, and walking. The incumbent must be mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. The incumbent must possess and maintain a current valid state drivers license.

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.