Social Worker Primary Care (PACT) SW

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Social Worker in Social Work and Care Transition Service (SW&CTS) at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) is assigned to Primary Care Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). Primary duty assignment for this position is mission dependent and may include Primary Care Clinics Specialty Care Clinics Emergency Department Walk Ins or other social work coverage areas as defined by social work supervisor.

The duties of the Social Worker may include but are not limited to:

• Performing all functions related to assessment interventions referrals placement and coordinating transitions of care for Veterans seen at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS)
• Assists with short-term interventions to enhance compliance with medical care assistance with adjusting to functional changes/ disability crisis intervention and promotion of whole health
• Participates in social work service compliance and monitoring of established policies/procedures quality performance monitors agency accreditation requirements and involvement in community/VA committees
• Provides case management services in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team to engage the Veteran and/or support system to determine a coordinated effort to meet agreed upon goals for a Veterans treatment.
• Liaisons with community programs and services regarding needed services for Veterans and/or their families
• Completes appropriate (brief or comprehensive) psychosocial assessments to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and/or their support systems.
• Identifies high-risk needs and prioritizes case/care management services.
• Performs appropriate suicide risk screenings and comprehensive suicide risk assessments.
• Identifies and assesses risk safety supports and implements appropriate interventions/treatment for those who are experiencing abuse neglect exploitation or are experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence in conjunction with the healthcare team.
• Provides supportive counseling to assist Veterans/families to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with chronic/disabling illnesses onset of a catastrophic illness and/or dying.
• Provides crisis intervention by making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans to ensure the patient/family is able to proceed to the next appropriate level of care
• Provides consultation and education to Veterans/support systems regarding community resources VA benefits and specialty programs and advance directives.
• Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans/support systems and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veterans healthcare planning and compliance with treatment
• Provides sufficient clinical care for competency assessment
• Participates in a peer review process
• Performs on-call duties on a rotating basis
• Completes all encounters and tracking forms correctly and within in
• established timeframes.

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.
• Must pass pre-employment medical 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.

• 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

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. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• Education. VHA Social Worker 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 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 masters degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to 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.
  • 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 masters 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 states such as California Washington and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years social workers must become licensed at the independent masters level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure

1. Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic cultural ethnic educational and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients staff and representatives of community agencies.
5. 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.

1. Knowledge of community resources how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services and ability to coordinate services.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.