Senior Social Worker (Disruptive Behavior Chair)

This announcement is an Open Continuous Announcement and will remain open until all position is filled. The first cut-off will be on or about 01/07/2026. Applications received after this will be sent to management upon request until the position is fulfilled.

VA Careers - Social Work: duties for this position may include (but are not limited to):

• Conducts comprehensive Social Work assessments and identifies individualized treatment goals.
• Acts as a consultant for the MHSL for specialist discipline-specific psychosocial assessment intervention and community-based knowledge and skills.
• Develops initiates implements and reviews psychosocial treatment plans based on assessed needs.
• Makes psychosocial diagnoses and appropriate evidence-based interventions with measurable outcomes.
• Provides education to patients family members and significant others.
• Provides consultation to professional staff within the VA Medical Center and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans.
• Functions independently as a member of the Medical Staff with full clinical privileges.
• Complies with national and local performance measures including timely health care screenings and completion of clinical reminders.
• Complies with all medical documentation rules and regulations.
• Lead a team of administrative and clinical executives such as the Chief of Staff Chief of Police Regional Counsel Patient Safety and Mental Health to assess triage and manage patient-generated disruptive behavior.
• Oversees the day-to-day operations of the Disruptive Behavior Committee.
• Utilizes experience in forensic assessment and management of violence risk.
• Independently conducts violence risk assessments and provide guidance to Committee members.
• Completes documentation of committee activities including agenda and minutes and follow-up on all committee recommended actions.
• Serves as a consultant to facility staff in the evaluation of violence risk and the implementation of risk mitigation strategies.
• Coordinates quality improvement projects around patient behavior.
• Manages computer-based flagging systems for identifying violent or dangerous Veteran patients.
• Responds to all VISN and Central Office requests for information about DBC operations or disruptive behavior incidents.
• Adheres to DBC guidelines established by the national WVPP Program Office.
• Attends and participates in DBC conferences and conference calls.
• Implements educates trains and updates local Disruptive Behavior Committee policies and procedures.
• Coordinates and collaborates with legal representatives US Department of Veterans Affairs office of the Inspector General court officials including the Assistant US Attorney police (VA and community) and community providers.

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 physical examination.
• 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.

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 to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. A copy of transcripts must be submitted with your application package to verify that you meet the education requirements unless you are qualifying under the Granfathering Provision.

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 Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified social workers must maintain a full valid and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
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.

• 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.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.