Integrated Primary CareBehavioral Health Senior Social Worker

The Senior Social Worker functions as part of multidisciplinary team delivering brief consultation-based services to Veterans primary care providers and allied Patient Alliance Care Team (PACT) members. Primary responsibilities include providing brief individual psychotherapy and clinical supervision to Social Work students. Clinically the focus is on resolving problems within the primary care service context visits are brief (generally 20-30 minutes) limited in number (1-6 visits) and are provided in the primary care practice area. The Senior Social Worker functions within fast-paced primary care teams and can expect to consult with 8-10 patients per day with the primary goals of assisting PACT members with identification treatment and management of mental health and behavioral medicine conditions in the enrolled population. Weekly supervision of Social Work Fellows in the Interprofessional Education Fellowship program is also required.

Duties may include but are not limited to:

• Interviews Clients and Conducts Psychosocial Assessments - Interviews veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the veterans situation presenting problems and their causes and the impact of such problems on the veterans functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. Interprets and explains VAs treatment and benefit programs.
• Makes Psychosocial Diagnoses - Independently evaluates the clients situation including the veterans reaction and ability to deal with it and arrives at a reasoned conclusion. Based on the psychosocial assessment uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis.
• Plans Effective Treatment - Develops psychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment. Using known available resources and the initial assessment of the veterans likelihood to accept differing types of assistance make initial and continuing decisions regarding use of VA and non-VA services and referrals. Arrives at a reasoned conclusion as to the preferred course of agency action. Provides independent consultation and makes recommendations to interdisciplinary team on course of treatment.
• Implements Treatment - Provides clinical services to veterans and family members/significant others in support of the veterans treatment. Gives advice guidance emotional support and other assistance. Provides individual and group counseling services including psychotherapy in some settings. Assists and encourages veterans and significant others in facing problems thinking them through evaluating the situation realistically considering alternative courses of action and arriving at plans for using resources to resolve problems.
• Evaluation Education Supervision Coaching and Mentoring - Establishes a continuing relationship with the veteran evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. Documents independently in the medical records utilizing paper and/or electronic formats including psychosocial assessments diagnostics treatment progress notes follow up and referral. Provides orientation and on-going training to Social Workers and interdisciplinary team members. Conducts staff development programs for Social Workers and takes responsibility for providing opportunities to help staff update their Social Work practice skills and acquire new knowledge in contemporary treatment modalities. Serves as a mentor to other Social Workers particularly those at the entry level. Provides clinical supervision for unlicensed Social Workers and for Social Work associates. Provides training to students residents interns and fellows from other disciplines.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 8:00a.m. - 4:30p.m.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Karen Chapman the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Telework: Available for Ad-hoc
Functional Statement #: F05456
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

VA Careers - Social Work: of employment

Notifications:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• Due to a critical staffing shortage 38 U.S.C. 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans preference for this job announcement.
• Current or formal Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title series grade step tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is covered by a special rate.
• This position is not in a Bargaining Unit.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

Requirements

• 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.

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 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

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.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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 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 tohttp:// 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 tohttp:// Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

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).

Grandfathering Provision: 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). The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.1. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title series and grade held including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it the following provisions apply:

• Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification may be reassigned promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
• Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
• Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.

Grade Determinations:GS-12 Senior Social Worker:

Experience and Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience 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.

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 the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

(a) 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.
(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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 Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 Employee Occupational Health Services.