Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This announcement is open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees and current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. Applicants will be referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent Facility employees. 2. Current permanent Agency (Department of Veterans Affairs) employees. 3. Current permanent employees of other Federal agencies.

The duties listed are GS-11 Full Performance Level, GS-9 duties will differ in complexity and level of supervision.

This Social Worker is responsible for program oversight, monitoring and administration, serving as a contact with local Public Housing Authorities, and providing clinical case management services necessary to ensure that Veteran care is coordinated with the VA medical center, community health, or mental health providers, and agencies that serve homeless populations. This position is the primary point of contact for Veterans who have graduated from HUD-VASH case management and have retained their voucher.

Clinical Assessment

• Evaluate each Veteran's situation, abilities, and capabilities, and arrive at a reasoned conclusion including an assessment of vulnerability and priority for re-admission.
• As part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment, interview the Veteran and their family members to establish facts about the Veteran's situation, presenting problems, their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veterans functioning and health.
• Review all data, subjective and objective, and make a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths.

Comprehensive Case Management

• Ensure graduated Veterans maintain their housing stability by following up at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months following graduation from HUD-VASH Case Management. Contact graduated Veterans annually thereafter at the point of recertification to offer assistance with this process.
• Implement the Housing First model within the HUD-VASH program. The main principle is direct, or nearly direct, placement of targeted homeless Veterans into permanent housing.
• Provide referrals to VA medical and mental health inpatient and outpatient treatment and to other VA services.
• If appropriate, provide referrals or consults, or in some cases direct admission of the Veteran prior to HUD-VASH participation, for other VA programs, including community-based residential treatment such as Grant and Per Diem Programs, Health Care for Homeless Veterans contract residential treatment, Domiciliary, or Psychiatric Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs.

Program Administration and Organization

• Act as the primary POC for PHAs across the catchment area for annual reviews/recertification.
• Develop working relationships and agreements with other organizations and directly coordinates with the designated PHA regarding housing voucher recertification and award process for each Veteran.
• Veterans eligible for HUD-VASH come from a wide geographic area. Their health and mental health needs may be complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. The HUD-VASH Program requires continuous coordination with the community's homeless providers and coalitions as well as with other local, state, and federal agencies.

Outreach

• Conduct and participate in outreach activities including field interviews, assessments, and referrals for homeless Veterans contacted in the community, shelters, and "on the streets," as well as those who are referred by VA residential programs, medical centers, or outpatient clinics.
• Transport those Veterans to appointments in the community.
• Maintain current and establish new relationships with other community-based service providers for the homeless.
• Operate a government vehicle to travel in the service area and local community to perform duties. Some overnight travel to remote parts of the catchment area may be required.
• Regularly conduct and participate in outreach activities including field interviews, assessments, and referrals for homeless Veterans contacted in the community.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Mon - Fri, 8:00am to 4:30pm.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year).
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).
Telework: Ad-hoc.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Conditions of employment

• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's 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 examination.
• Candidates must have an unrestricted State Driver's License and be cleared upon hire to drive a government vehicle for transporting Veterans.
• 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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• 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.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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.

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with applicable laws).
• Education. Have a master's 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 master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED).
• Licensure/Certification. 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 master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. (COPY OF LICENSE REQUIRED FOR GS-11).
  • Exception. 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

GRADE DETERMINATIONS.
Social Worker, GS-9
Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
(e) 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.

Social Worker, 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, and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.
OR,
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 (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED).

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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 or specialized experience:

• Experience working with people experiencing homelessness.
• Experience working with Public Housing Authorities.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

May 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).

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: The position requires moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds); operation of a motor vehicle; use of computer screen; and hearing (aid may be permitted). Work may be performed outside and inside; there may may be slippery or uneven walking surfaces; and you must be able to work alone and closely with others.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

What are KSAs?
In the federal hiring process, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) are a list of special qualifications and personal attributes that you need to have for a particular job/grade level (see Qualifications section of this announcement).

• Knowledge statements refer to an organized body of information usually of a factual or procedural nature which, if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible. A body of information applied directly to the performance of a function. Skill statements refer to the proficient manual, verbal or mental manipulation of data or things.
• Skills can be readily measured by a performance test where quantity and quality of performance are tested, usually within an established time limit.
• Ability statements refer to the power to perform an observable activity at the present time. This means that abilities have been evidenced through activities or behaviors that are similar to those required on the job. Note that abilities are different from aptitudes. Aptitude is only the potential for performing the activity.

Although not required at the time of application, we highly recommend submitting a supplemental document with your written responses to the KSAs required at each grade level you wish to be considered. If you choose not to submit KSA responses, please ensure your resume includes details of your experience that fully demonstrate the required KSAs as described in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement.

5 Tips for Writing a Federal Resume - FederalPay.org (https://www.federalpay.org/articles/5-tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume)

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

NOTE: If you are claiming Facility or Agency Eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent (not more than 1 year old) Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50 (Not an award SF-50). Your SF-50 must include:

• Position title, pay plan/series/grade
• Tenure code
• Position Occupied - type of appointment (Competitive or Excepted)

Within Grade Increase, General Adjustments, or Promotion SF-50's are best, Award SF-50's do not include this pertinent information.

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• License
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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