Social Worker

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) - and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of education or licensure requirements may be referred - tentatively selected - but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• The requirements for VHA social workers are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9) - amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419 - November 1 - 2000
• To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA - all applicants must meet the following: 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)
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for a master's degree in social work
• Verification of the degree can be made by going to to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a master's of Social Work
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social work positions in VHA must be licensed by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• Current state requirements may be found by going to
• Exception: This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level
• For the GS-11 grade level and above - the candidate must be licensed or certified
• At the time of appointment - the supervisor will provide the unlicensed social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification - including the time by which the license must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline
• GS-9 grade level: VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed at the independent - master's level within three years of their appointment
• A social worker who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record
• Information can be found at
• Failure to Obtain License or Certification: Failure to become licensed within the prescribed time will result in removal from the Social Worker series and may result in termination of employment
• Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed - social workers must maintain a full - valid - unrestricted independent license to remain qualified for employment
• 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: In addition to the above for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• GS-9: Experience - Education - and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic - cultural - ethnic - educational - and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills
• Assess the psychosocial functioning needs of Veterans and their family members to formulate and implement a treatment plan - identifying the problems - strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and assistance needed
• 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
• 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
• Entry Level Assignments: Individuals assigned as GS-9 grade level social workers are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised - as they are not yet functioning at the independent practice level conferred by independent licensure
• Social workers at the GS-9 entry level are typically assigned to program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience
• Duties may include - but are not limited to: Identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse - neglect - or exploitation - providing education - social work case management - acting as an advocate of the Veteran and family members/caregiver
• identifying the strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - psychosocial acuity - and assisting with the appropriate referrals
• GS-9 social workers provide psychosocial services in the assigned area under supervision
• GS-11: Experience and Licensure: 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 in the field of health care or other social work-related settings (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure in a state at the independent practice level
• Education: In addition to meeting basic requirements - 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
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to the community and other governmental agencies for services - and the ability to coordinate services
• Independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - cultural - ethnic - educational - and other diversified backgrounds
• Medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities - 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
• Independently implementing different treatment modalities - working with individuals - families - and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical - and social problems to achieve treatment goals
• Provide consultation services to new social workers - social work graduate students - and other staff about the needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment
• Full Performance Level Assignments: This is the full performance level
• Social workers at this level are licensed to independently practice social work
• Incumbents are assigned to all program areas - including but not limited to mental health - rehabilitation - and geriatrics
• Provide professional - independent social work services in the assigned area
• Duties include but are not limited to: assessing and documenting symptoms of abuse - neglect - exploitation - or intimate partner violence
• maintaining Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policy
• acting as an advocate with VA and community service providers when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver
• Independently formulate and implement a treatment plan - including achievable goals - identifying the needs - strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and psychosocial acuity
• Providing subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the treatment of Veterans - offering professional opinions based on experience - expertise - and role modeling effective social work practice skills
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services.

Duties

• VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The incumbent assists with the establishment - implementation - and maintenance of referral and screening procedures for potential HUD-VASH veteran participants that meet national policy as well as the needs of medical center mental health services and residential programs
• Referral - screening - and admission criteria recognize program eligibility - prioritization of subsets of the homeless veteran population - requirements of the PHAs - and other policies - regulations - or laws pertaining to program administration
• The incumbent assists with the development of the screening procedures to involve a multidisciplinary team approach and is responsible for ensuring that criteria and procedures are maintained
• The incumbent provides input for program participant selection based on structured interviews and assessments
• GS-09 - Work is reviewed through regularly scheduled meetings with the supervisor - through monitoring of progress notes and other accountability practices as required by the state's licensing agency - and from reports from the program areas to which the incumbent is assigned
• All social work duties must be under the close supervision of a social work supervisor or licensed social worker of a higher grade
• GS-11 - The incumbent practices independently - using professional judgment and expertise to make decisions about services and treatment provided for veterans and their significant others/family members
• The incumbent is given authority to make his/her work assignments within the program area to which assigned
• He/she consults with the supervisor as needed and with colleagues to develop knowledge and to apply agency policies and practices to new matters
• The work is reviewed for technical adequacy and conformance with procedures and practices applicable to the subject
• GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNED DUTIES INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO: Program Administration and Organization: Assists with data collection - administrative record keeping - and monitoring patient or program clinical indicators - thresholds - and performance measurements
• Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis: Evaluates the veteran's situation - abilities - and capabilities - and arrives at a reasoned conclusion - including an assessment of vulnerability and prioritization for admission
• Referral - Rehabilitation - and Program Admission: Provides referral to VA medical and mental health inpatient and outpatient treatment and to other VA services - including VA benefits - as well as community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs
• Comprehensive Case Management: Develops psychosocial treatment plans - actively involving the veteran and their family or significant others - in coordination with interdisciplinary team members - based on the psychosocial assessments - including goals for clinical treatment
• Direct Services: Provides mental health and substance abuse services for veterans - family members - or significant others in support of the veteran's treatment
• Driver's License: The incumbent of this position must possess an appropriate - valid CA driver's license to operate sanctioned vehicles in the transportation of patients and/or equipment
• Other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: M-F 8:00 am - 4:30 pm or as determined by the supervisor
• Compressed/Flexible: This may be authorized at the supervisor's discretion
• EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply for the incentive
• Contact [email protected] - the EDRP Coordinator - for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time off per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full-time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: This may be authorized at the supervisor's discretion
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00458-F - 00459-F

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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