Social Worker

The incumbent will be responsible for providing services to eligible individuals who are experiencing a variety of military related psychological and psychosocial problems. Incumbents must possess the knowledge and experience to independently implement psychotherapeutic modalities in working with individuals families and groups to enhance the readjustment of Veterans active duty Service members and their families. Functions and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Intake screening and assessment: Complete all readjustment counseling intake procedures including an assessment of risk for self-harm military history and military related psychosocial stressors and assess family readjustment stressors and document identified behaviors or symptoms.
• Readjustment counseling goal setting and service planning: Develop and periodically update an individualized readjustment counseling service plan that reflects a course of therapeutic and psychosocial interventions including identification of achievable goals and measurable outcomes.
• Direct readjustment counseling service provision: Incorporate complex multiple causation in differential psychosocial assessment and direct service delivery to eligible Veterans including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnostic inferences within the clinical scope of practice.
• Risk assessment and crisis intervention: Conduct timely assessment of Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs evaluate risk and initiate safety planning as appropriate.
• Care coordination: Links the Veteran with other community services resources and opportunities to maximize the Veterans independence health and well-being.
• Coordinating readjustment counseling and outreach: Maintain active coordination with Vet Center outreach workers to ensure seamless referral to Vet Center services for those individuals engaged in the community at outreach events that may require follow-up readjustment counseling.
• Team cohesion and coordination: Actively participate in staff meetings designed to promote team building and staff development.
• Documentation/administrative responsibilities/consultation: Document all clinical interactions with eligible individuals and episodes of care coordination on their behalf as required by policy.
• Perform other duties as assigned

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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification 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.

• 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.

Qualifications

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.
• English Language Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English to perform the duties of this position.
• Education: Must have a masters 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 masters degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the masters degree level. For the GS-11 grade level the candidate must be licensed or certified.

• Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic cultural ethnic educational and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
• 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

• 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 cultural ethnic educational and other diversified 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.