Social Worker

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties:

• Independent practice level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and/or family members/caregivers in the PACT/Primary Care Clinic.
• Incumbent must be able to work independently with Veterans and family members experiencing a wide range of complicated medical psychiatric emotional behavioral financial legal and other Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) issues.
• Must independently complete thorough SDOH assessments to determine the functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members.
• Able to assess functional acuity of the patient and provide appropriate interventions.
• Must be able to utilize this assessment in facilitating the Veterans maximum use of treatment for attainment of the highest level of independence possible.
• Maintain availability to address on demand/same day Veteran walk-ins for urgent SDOH and/or other crises within Social Work Scope of Practice.
• Participation as an active member of the interdisciplinary treatment team (PACT) to include the Veteran; their family/caregiver and all PACT members in the development and implementation of Veterans identified treatment goals and preferred interventions.
• Demonstrate competency regarding clinical documentation and encounters vs administrative tasks that are non-encounterable on all VA authorized electronic health platforms.
• Must possess knowledge and ability at the advance practice level to independently implement treatment modalities and evidence-based practices when appropriate may provide educational classes and/or supportive groups for Veterans and families including shared medical appointments.
• Communication with Veterans and/or their families/caregivers using their preferred modality will require that the PACT Social Worker demonstrate proficiency in the use of the My HealtheVet (MHV) system for those who choose to utilize this platform.
• Provide consultation and education to Veterans and family members regarding community resources VA benefits and specialty programs and Advance Directives.
• Must be available to provide consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding SDOH needs of the Veteran and/or families and the impact of the identified SDOH issues on the Veterans health care planning and compliance with treatment.
• Will maintain knowledge of Veterans benefits and services community resources and process for making appropriate referrals to community and other governmental programs or agencies.
• Must have an understanding of caregiver stressors and provide appropriate caregiver-specific interventions and support.
• Must have a working knowledge of program evaluation and quality assurance principles and techniques.
• All other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Grandfathering Provision. 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:
  • (2) 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.
  • (3) 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.
  • (4) 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.
  • (5) 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.

• (a) Knowledge of community resources how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services and ability to coordinate services.
• (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic educational and other backgrounds.
• (c) 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.
• (d) 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.
• (e) 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.