Social Worker Education Debt Reduction Program Approved

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

This position is for a Social Worker assigned to the West Texas VA Health Care System Patient Aligned Care Team. This position uses a high levelof skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of veterans. Social Work responsibilities include the assessment of psychosocial problems often at a time when the Veteran is experiencing crisis and include the provision of short-term solution-focused counseling with veterans and/or their family members/significant others. Referrals typically originate from members of the interdisciplinary team from Veterans and/or their family members/significant others coming as walk-ins to seek assistance and from community professionals.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Completes an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team the Veteran family members and significant others.
• Contributes to the development of the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran and family members/caregiver.
• Uses the current Social Work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhances the content to the benefit of veterans.
• Understands the difficulty of bureaucracy and acts as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver
• Makes rapid assessments and develops crisis management plans.
• Provides education related to VA and community resources entitlements Advance Directives/Living Will and will refer Veterans and family members/caregiver to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs.
• Reviews the progress notes from other providers to accurately determine the strengths and limitations of each Veteran.
• Educates the Veteran their family members/caregiver and the team of all the options available to them and will collaborate with the Veteran and family members/caregiver on the preferred option.
• Responsible for the monitoring of and discharge planning for Veterans assigned to the PACT Team while Veterans are hospitalized in any number of local medical facilities. This includes on- site review and assessment at local facilities when appropriate and necessary.
• Provides the Veterans and their family members/caregiver with ongoing supportive counseling. The purpose of such counseling is to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with chronic/disabling illness (es) onset of a catastrophic illness mental illness (es) etc.
• Enters all Veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates.
• Establishes and maintain positive working relationships with employees volunteers consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies.
• Attends all appropriate staff meetings (interdisciplinary treatment team meetings Social Work staff meetings Social Work supervision meetings and other committees and workgroups as appropriate) and perform other duties as required.

• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• Must possess a current and valid drivers license.
• 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:

• 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:// 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.
  • For GS-11:
    • Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings (VA or non VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.
    • Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
    • Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
      • Knowledge of community resources how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services and ability to coordinate services.
      • Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic educational and other backgrounds.
      • 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.
      • Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals families and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric 8 medical and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
      • 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.
  
  Preferred Experience:
  • Ability to engage and perform at the basic level of direct case management and crisis intervention.
  • Knowledge and ability to complete Psychosocial assessment or Biopsychosocial assessment Treatment Plan and/or Plan of Action Development.
  • Ability to Engage Advocate Collaborate Practice and Coordinate with interdisciplinary teams as well as other services and disciplines within the VHA or in the Community and assist with discharges of Veterans from community inpatient facilities to close the gap of services for Veterans.
  • Ability to discuss and complete Advance Directives and engage in further discussions with Veteran and families around Patient Care Priorities Advanced Care Planning End of Life Discussions etc.
  Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11.
  
  Physical Requirements: A pre-placement examination will be required to be able to determine if the incumbent is able to safely operate a Government Vehicle.
  Education

  Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges universities schools or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information visit: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
  
  If your school has changed names or is no longer in existence you must provide this information in your application.
  
  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.
  
  If your school was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the CSWE website you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet. 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.

  Additional information

  During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
  
  This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
  
  This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
  
  VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38 and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
  
  If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
  
  Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations Security and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

  Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

  Review our benefits

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.