Social Worker

Summary

Incumbents will be assigned and reports to:

• Social Worker-Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV): Bay Pines, FL
• Social Worker-Housing and Urban Development (HUD-VASH): Sarasota, FL
• Social Worker-Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT): Cape Coral, FL
  
  

The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Duties

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These positions report to the Social Work Service of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. The duties and responsibilities are carried throughout the Healthcare System including all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the services.

Social Worker-Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV)

• The Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Social Worker supports the VA Homeless Program by providing continuity of care for homeless Veterans between VHA and community-based programs, as the Veteran transitions from homelessness into programs such as HCHV Contract Residential Housing (CRS), Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs (RRTPs), and Grant Per Diem Programs (GPD) as well as directly to permanent housing through the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF), or other forms of housing in the community.
  
  

Social Worker-Housing and Urban Development (HUD-VASH)

• The Housing and Urban Development/Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD/VASH) Program is an intensive clinical case management program for homeless Veterans aimed at providing psychosocial services to Veterans while residing in stable housing through HUD's housing choice voucher system.
  
  

Social Worker-Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT)

• The Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) assists VHA in transforming Veterans' care by providing patient-driven, proactive, personalized, team-based care focused on wellness and disease prevention resulting in improvements in Veteran satisfaction, improved healthcare outcomes, and costs.
  
  

Social Worker duties include, but are not limited to:

• The incumbent provides case-appropriate professional social work services for Veterans and families/significant others in compliance with VA, VISN, station, and Social Work policies and memorandums.
• Casework, group work, case management, and/or community organization social work methods will be utilized in the delivery of the services. Incumbent provides highly developed professional social work services.
• The incumbent independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs.
• The incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups in the outpatient mental health clinic.
• The incumbent can work with patients and families who are experiencing a basic emotional, medical, and social problems, utilizing individual, group, and family counseling skills.
• The incumbent can assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the patient's problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• The incumbent has basic knowledge of psychosocial treatment modalities and 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.
• The incumbent must possess the ability to organize work, set priorities, meet multiple deadlines, and evaluate assigned program area(s).
• The incumbent carries full responsibility for cases, presenting a wide range of social, emotional, and environmental problems and will provide services according to the assessment of the Veteran's needs, encompassing even the most difficult cases.
  
  

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm

Travel: You may be expected to travel for this position.

Functional Statement #: 20031F, 20027F, 20033F

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

Requirements

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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.
• 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

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.
• 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 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.
• 
  
  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 master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.
• 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.]
• 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, master's 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 exam. In states such as California, Washington, and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years, social workers must become licensed at the independent, master's level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure.

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).


Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates.

GS-09 (Entry Level)

• Experience, Education, and
  
  Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements.
  
  

GS-11 (Full-Performance Level)

• Experience and
  
  Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one (1) 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.
  
  

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 (1) year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
  
  

While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. These are the KSA's for this subject position:

GS-09 (Entry Level)

• Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• 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 (Full-Performance Level)

• 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, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified 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.
  
  

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



Preferred Experience: Working with the homeless population.

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-09 to GS-11.



Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty. Ability to drive/operate government vehicle.

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.



Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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