Senior Social Worker

This position serves as a Senior Social Worker within the catchment area of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) Community- Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) located in El Dorado Arkansas.

Duties of the Senior Social Worker include but are not limited to:

• Demonstrates significant experience and ability to independently implement treatment modalities and provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals families and groups
• Identifies and screens patients for psychosocial needs and demonstrates the ability to independently develop monitor and alter treatment plans based on the identified psychosocial needs of Veterans/families empirical measurement-based care data and clinical expertise
• Performs psychosocial assessments demonstrating differential diagnostic techniques knowledge of multiple causation and age-related considerations
• Independently performs psychotherapy utilizing measurement-based care strategies to track progress alter treatment interventions based on outcome data and ensure evidence-based therapy model fidelity
• Coordinates community-based services including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs other government and community agency programs as appropriate
• Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides psychotherapy and case management services utilizing suicide risk assessment and mitigation strategies differential diagnosis and evidence-based treatment modalities
• Provides crisis intervention services seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members
• Responsible for the development and review of Veteran treatment plans including the integration of the Veterans strength into identified goals inclusion of Measurement-based care data obtained in the provision of services and ensuring developed treatment plans include goals identified in the Veterans own words
• Coordinates care by assuring Veterans are seen in a timely manner and are referred and seen for comprehensive service delivery and linking and referring Veterans to the VA Medical Center VA Regional Offices and/or community agencies if warranted
• Provides Advanced Directive information and education including but not limited to the following: Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Living Will Health Care Directive and/or treatment preferences document to Veteran and families

• 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 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.

Basic Requirements:
1. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
2. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
3. 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.
4. 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 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).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Senior Social Worker GS-12
Experience/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.

Licensure/Ceritification: 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 knowledge skills and abilities (KSAs):

1. 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.
2. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.