Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent VA/Federal employees only. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Social Worker-Health Care for Homeless Veterans HUD-VASH Program Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening veterans for psychosocial needs. They must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups.

Social Worker must be aware the primary place of work is in the community setting, away from the main HCHV office or VA Medical Center locations. They are expected to perform their duties mostly independently, in a community based setting, working with homeless veterans at locations such as inside their HUD-VASH housing after placement. There will be occasions the Social Worker will be responsible for transporting veterans on their caseload to various locations in the community, such as the Public Housing Authority, bill payment centers, in order to assist the veterans with learning independent living skills to help maintain their permanent housing. All transportation will be conducted in a GSA Government Vehicle.

Additional duties include but not limited to:

• Conducts psychosocial assessments.
• Participates with treatment planning in collaboration with the veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Able to coordinate community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs.
• Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services.
• Provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members.
• Has working knowledge and experience in use 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.
• Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and their families.
• Independently work with veterans and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills.
• Provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan.
• Ability to evaluate incumbents own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means.
• Able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds.
• Facilitates referrals based upon veterans needs and eligibility.
• Able to meet the needs of customers while supporting VA missions.
• Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
• Provide the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures.
• Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the consumer constructively and appropriately.
• Has working knowledge and skill in the use of word-processing, data management and other computer systems, especially those programs in use by VHA.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, with rotating tours of duty as needed.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 30879F: Social Worker Health Care for Homeless Veterans HUD-VASH Program.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

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 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.

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

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. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• 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. Note: 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.
• Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade.

Social Worker, GS-9

• Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

a) Utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.b) 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) 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

• Entry Level Assignments: Individuals assigned as GS-9 grade level social workers are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised, as they are not yet functioning at the independent practice level conferred by independent licensure or certification. Social workers at the GS-9 are typically assigned to program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience. Duties may include but are not limited to:identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation; providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning; providing social work case management; acting as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver; assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family identifying the Veteran's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and psychosocial acuity, in collaboration with the Veteran, family, and interdisciplinary treatment teams; maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the Veteran and/or family members/caregivers and assist with the appropriate referrals. Since social workers at this level are not practicing at an independent level, they should not be assigned to program areas where independent practice is required unless there is a licensed social worker in the program area who can provide supervision for practice. GS-9 social workers provide psychosocial services in the assigned area under supervision
• Experience: 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, 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.
  • Full Performance Level Assignments: Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. Are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. Duties include but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence.

Preferred Experience and Certifications

• Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), or Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) certification
• Full independent licensure at the advanced practice level
• At least two years should be in an area of specialized social work practice.
• Experience in conducting visits to impacted areas and emergency shelters, possibly in conjunction with VA Disaster Emergency Medical Personal System (DEMPS) or other Emergency Management response protocols
• Experience working on a multi-disciplinary team with experience using evidence based treatment

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

Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

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
• License
• Clinical Standard Resume
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps