Social Worker (Patient Aligned Care Team)

VA Careers - Social Work: Patient Aligned Care Team is a comprehensive team that delivers primary care to Veterans in a longitudinal rather than episodic manner with a focus on prevention health promotion care coordination and chronic disease management. Within this Veteran-centric model the social worker often serves as a care coordinator for a panel of Veterans ensuring that health care services align with the needs and preferences defined by each Veteran. Social workers are uniquely suited for this role through their education training and experience which equip them to understand the person-in-environment perspective and the influence of family and community factors on Veterans health care needs.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include but not limited to:

• Assesses and treats complex psychosocial needs of Veterans and their families or significant others.
• Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans in the Primary Care Clinic and/or their families.
• Completes comprehensive psychosocial assessments to determine psychosocial functioning and identify the needs of Veterans and/or their families.
• Actively participates as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team and collaborates with Veterans their families and team members in developing and implementing treatment goals and interventions.
• Understands and applies medical and mental health diagnoses terminology disability definitions and treatment procedures including those related to acute chronic and traumatic illnesses; substance use disorders; and common medications and their effects or side effects.
• Facilitates community placements by collaborating with Veterans their families and interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure appropriate and timely placement.
• Independently implements treatment modalities and provides educational classes and/or supportive groups for Veterans and families including shared medical appointments.
• Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families and the impact of identified psychosocial issues on health care planning and treatment adherence.
• Provides case management services to Veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care.
• Adjusts tour of duty as necessary to accommodate the needs of Veteran patients.

• 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.
• 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.
• A current unrestricted valid state-issued Drivers License is required for this position.
• Operation of a motor vehicle is required for this position. A pre-employment examination will be required to validate your ability to operate a motor vehicle. A full physical will not be required.

• 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.

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. Verification of the degree can be made by going to the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master 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.
  • For appointments at the GS-9 grade level VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent masters level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification states such as California Washington and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years social workers must become licensed at the independent masters level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure.
• 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.
• Grandfather Provision. Detailed in Education section of announcement.

• GS-09 Social Worker Experience Education and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
• Demonstrate Knowledge Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  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.
• GS-11 Social Worker 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.
• Demonstrate Knowledge Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  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.