Social Worker

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include but are not limited to:
Clinical

• Responsible for providing independent case management throughout the continuum of care for a caseload of Veterans in the HUD-VASH program.
• Provides a full range of clinical services to include case work individual family and group counseling discharge planning case management and other services as appropriate.
• Independently performs case finding functions and outreach identifying and screening Veterans for current mental health status housing status access to resources and other needs.
• Provides independent evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions including individual family and group psychotherapy. Incumbent can measure outcomes of these interventions.
• Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients many of whom have psychiatric and medical problems.
• Evaluates their own practice through case conferences and other organizational means.
• Active participant in the development of treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Coordinates community-based services including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs other government programs and community agency programs.
• Provides complex crisis intervention clinical assessment and case management services seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint.
• Provides consultation services to other staff regarding the mental health needs of Veterans and the impact of mental health on health care adherence to treatment plan and other outcomes.

• 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 examination. This position requires a physical for driving.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• 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 to 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 to VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment the supervisor chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.
• Failure to Obtain License or Certification: In all cases social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
• 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.

1. Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic cultural ethnic educational and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
2. Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members and to formulate and implement a treatment plan identifying the Veterans problems strengths weaknesses coping skills and assistance needed.
3. Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals families and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive problem solving or crisis intervention techniques.
4. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients staff and representatives of community agencies.
5. Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses disabilities and treatment procedures. This includes acute chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

1. Knowledge of community resources how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services and ability to coordinate services.
2. Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic cultural ethnic educational and other diversified backgrounds.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.