Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This job opportunity is open to current permanent employees of Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System and satellites.

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This Senior Social Worker's responsibility is to identify and engage outpatient Mental and Behavioral Health Veterans and provide them with direct services and/or develop and connect them to the services and resources that will enable them to receive safe, timely and effective Mental Health access and treatment through a remote setting. Delivery of these services requires specialized knowledge and skills and extensive experience in resource identification and access with VA medical, mental health, substance abuse, and other specialty clinical providers, as well as community collaboration; understanding of facility regulations, interpretation and repair strategies to successfully overcome barriers.


Major duties for the position include (but are not limited to):

• Performing specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness and accepting responsibility for the overall function of program development, recruitment of Veteran patients, case management, networking with community resources, and coordination of care with the mental health team and medical staff on site as well as various departments at the SLVHCS and community facilities in the primary service area;
• Assessing and providing clinical treatment of veterans in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team;
• Identifying high-risk patients and provides crisis intervention services and measures outcomes to interventions;
• Establishing and maintaining effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and their families;
• Independently working with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills;
• Expanding clinical knowledge in the profession, providing consultation and guidance to colleagues, role modeling effective Social Work practice skills, teaching or providing orientation or internship supervision to less experienced Social Workers, developing innovations in practice interventions, and providing clinical supervision for Social Work licensure or certification;
• Documenting independently in CPRS electronic medical records, including psychosocial assessments, diagnostics, treatment, progress notes, treatment plans, follow up, discharge plans and referrals;
• Establishing and maintaining positive working relationships with co-workers, volunteers, consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies;
• Evaluating his/her practice on an on-going basis through participation in professional peer review, case conferences, research studies, or other organized means;
• Providing consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan;
• Applying advanced professional social work methods and evidence-based intervention strategies to a full range of patient problems in his/her work setting;
• Providing intensive social work services requiring the exercise of mature professional judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of social work skills;
• Providing complex clinical services to clients with serious problems on a regular and continuing basis;
• Performing administrative functions such as serving as an Evidence Based Therapy Champion and/or as the Team Leader for BHIP Team meetings, communicating team needs to supervisory staff, and maintaining accurate records of his/her clinical interventions and other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm, subject to change based on the needs of the agency
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 Latoya.Luc@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Telework: Authorized per Agency Policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 629-01403F
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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical 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

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 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/.

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: GS-12 Senior Social Worker

1. Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience 9 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.

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

1. 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.
2. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Able to independently operate a motor vehicle.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

How you will be evaluated

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

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
Area of Consideration - current permanent employees of Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System and satellites.

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.