Social Worker (Program Coordinator) Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS)

The Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program provides personalized supportive services to families caregivers and survivors at the end of a Veterans life and ensure Veterans without identified family receive dignified burials to honor their service.

Duties for this position include but are not limited to:

• Overseeing facility Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS business clinical and evaluation processes to ensure survivors of enrolled Veterans receive award winning contacts when interacting with VA staff establishing connections with National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) ensuring clinical staff or health care providers notify the SAMS Specialist or Health Administrative Officer of the Day (HOD) chaplain and appropriate social work staff of Veterans deaths that occur within the VA medical facility.
• Ensure that there are proper budgetary/financial mechanisms in place to procure funeral transportation and/or interment services when necessary.
• Manage and coordinate the daily operations of the SAMS Program assist in the development of policies and procedures for program operation and prepare reports and statistics for facility VISN and national use.
• Manages and controls the use of data related to SAMS regarding day-to-day functioning and program evaluation.
• In conjunction with the Service Chief plans organizes and directs administrative operational and personnel activities for the SAMS program.
• Develops with the VA medical facility Chief of Health Administration Service (HAS) to ensure HODs are properly trained and allocated protected time to execute SAMs duties.
• Offers administrative support to the primary survivor for the time between the Veterans death to dignified interment including referrals to non-VA resources.
• Requests any clinical staff involved with care prior to death contact or completes that clinical contact within 24 hours (1 business day) of pronouncement of death.
• Collaborates with Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Pharmacy and Prosthetics to cancel all appointments to include orders.
• Performs work related to the review monitoring analysis planning and assessment of the SAMS program.
• Responsible for key program activities related to the planning development and implementation of the program components.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• 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.
• 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 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)

• Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation negotiation and monitoring.
• Knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and/or practice guidelines for the program.
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
• Skill in organizing work setting priorities meeting multiple deadlines and evaluating assigned program area(s).
• Ability to provide training orientation and guidance within clinical practice.