Job Description
Summary
The incumbent provides outreach - assessments - referrals and case management services to homeless veterans identified for possible participation and accepted in the Housing and Urban Development VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program. Incumbent 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.
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
- English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3j - this part
- Education Requirement: 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 to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work
- Licensure Requirement: 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
- Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified - pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations
- 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 - chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification - including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline
- 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-9 (Entry Level): Experience and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements
- For appointments at the GS-9 grade level - VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent - master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker
- Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam - and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam
- Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the applicant's resume must demonstrate all of the following KSAs
- Ability to utilize counseling skills when working with Veterans and family members
- Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members - and to formulate and implement a treatment plan - identifying the Veterans problems - strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and assistance needed
- Ability to 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
- Ability to 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
- GS-11 (Full Performance Level): 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 or certification in a state at the independent practice level
- OR 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 - the applicant's resume must demonstrate all of the following KSAs
- Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services
- Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - educational - and other backgrounds
- Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities and 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
- Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical - and social problems to achieve treatment goals
- Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers - social work graduate students - and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment
- All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package
- We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications
- Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification
- It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package
- 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-9 to GS-11
- Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
- Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.
Duties
- Major duties include - but are not limited to the following: Independently performs case finding functions and outreach - identifying and screening veterans for psychosocial needs
- Incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities - provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals - families and groups
- Independently conducts psychosocial assessments
- Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team
- Incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions
- Incumbent is able to coordinate community-based services - including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs - other government programs and community agency programs
- Independently identifies high risk patients and provides case management services
- Incumbent provides crisis intervention services - seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint - coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members
- Has working knowledge and experience in use 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
- Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and their families
- Incumbent is able to independently work with veterans and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical and social problems utilizing individual - group and family counseling and therapy skills
- Independently provides 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
- Ability to evaluate incumbent's own practice through professional peer review - case conferences and other organizational means
- Incumbent is able to communicate effectively - both orally and in writing - with people from varied backgrounds
- General knowledge of veterans' benefits and services relating to special programs - service connected compensation - non-service connected pension
- Facilitates referrals based upon veterans' needs and eligibility
- Able to meet the needs of customers while supporting VA missions
- Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans - their representatives - visitors - and all VA staff) in a courteous - tactful - and respectful manner
- Incumbent is able to provide the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures
- Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the consumer constructively and appropriately
- Demonstrates positive communication skills and behaviors that promote cooperation and teamwork with internal and external customers
- Collaborates with other disciplines and caregivers - using group processes for decision making in interdisciplinary problem solving
- Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
- Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) 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: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized SLRP: This occupational series is eligible for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)
- Repayment is limited to $10 -000 annually - up to $60 -000 in lifetime awards
- Participants must sign a service agreement and maintain an acceptable level of performance to remain eligible for this program.
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About Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
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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Permanent employment, Full time, Work experience placement, Remote work, Relocation package, Monday to Friday,