Social Worker - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Programs Care Coordinator

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program approval, award amount (up to $200,000), and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until August 31, 2025 or until the position is filled. The initial cutoff date for referral of eligible applications will be June 18, 2026. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. 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.

Qualifications

• 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 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.
• 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.
  • 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. §7403(f).
• Grandfathering Provision:
  • All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date (9/10/2019) of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
  • For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:
    • Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
    • Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
    • Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
    • If an employee who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
  • If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.

Grade Determination

• Social Worker - GS-9
  • Experience, Education, and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements.
  • Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
    • 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, including 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 (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 year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
  • Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in mental health care coordination and case management.
• Familiarity with suicide prevention and crisis mental health care to include PTSD, substance use disorders, and co-occurring mental health disorders.
• Ability to work within an interdisciplinary team.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit VA Qualification Standards.

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.

Responsibilities

• Serves as an advocate on behalf of the Veterans and their families assigned to a BHIP team to ensure delivery of comprehensive, seamless mental health services is maintained throughout the continuum of care, including communication within and across care lines to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans.
• Acts as a clinical resource/point-of-contact to Veterans and other team/staff members.
• Conducts biopsychosocial assessments to determine care coordination and treatment needs of Veterans.
• Provides consultation/education to Veterans and families on VA resources (including self-management tools), community resources, Advance Directives, and VA benefits.
• Participates in the treatment planning process with other disciplines.
• Participates in discharge planning with other disciplines and ensures that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate to promote care continuity.
• Acts as liaison between VA and community resources, including education and bidirectional communication that promotes seamless care.
• Maintains familiarity and shares responsibility with other team members for performance measures relevant to the BHIP team.
• Serves on Interdisciplinary Treatment Team(s).
• Provides crisis intervention when indicated, including timely assessment of at-risk Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs, evaluate risk, and initiate a safety plan as appropriate.
• Provides wellness/prevention education and may facilitate patient/family educational/bridging supportive sessions as appropriate.
• Documents interventions and activities in the patient's electronic health record and ensures appropriate hand-off communication and documentation when transferring patient care.
• Participates in program planning and development, advising the supervisor of shifting trends with care coordination needs and caseloads, and identifying the need for making recommendations on program procedures and/or policy changes based upon work experiences.
• Takes responsibility for improving professional skills, participating in planning and executing specific staff development projects, attending seminars and institutes, and participating in training programs of other disciplines as requested.
• Follows national guidance and local policy and SOPs for the MHSL, including following policies and documentation requirements as required for all accrediting bodies, as well as other internal and external requirements.
• Provides clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training, including trainees seeking licensure.
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment.
• Serves on Medical Center or Healthcare System, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces as assigned or requested.

Schedule

Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm

Benefits

• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized.
• EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants may be eligible.