Social Worker - Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV)
for sections like About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Use - for any list of duties/requirements/benefits, and
for prose. Do NOT repeat job title as heading. Do NOT put Job ID/requisition numbers as headings. Preserve ALL substantive information; do NOT invent or summarize away detail. Remove boilerplate etc. Include a section ONLY when posting has real, specific content for it — never emit heading followed by filler/placeholder text. Prefer few substantive sections over many thin ones.
We need to parse the posting.
Key content:
- Summary: eligible for EDRP, details about program, eligibility, award up to $200,000, eligibility period 1-5 years, must apply within four months of appointment.
- Qualifications: includes basic requirements: US citizenship, education (master's in social work from CSWE accredited school), licensure (state license at independent practice level), English language proficiency, grade determinations (GS-9 and GS-11 criteria). Also note: The full performance level is GS-9, actual grade range GS-9 to GS-11.
- Physical Requirements: ability to access treatment settings, walk long distances, light lifting (/, no markdown fences.
Let's craft:
About the role
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) – a student loan payment reimbursement program. Applicants must meet individual eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit an EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program approval determines award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) after review by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the Healthcare of Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Social Worker, providing outreach, assessments, referrals, and case management services to homeless Veterans identified in the community.
- Act as the entry point for Homeless services, offering Veterans an “open door” to the continuum of VA services.
- Provide outreach services as a key element of the HCHV program to reduce homelessness among Veterans by contacting vulnerable and underserved individuals and engaging them in supportive and rehabilitative services.
- Work in the community to provide outreach at shelters, soup kitchens, and other agencies serving the homeless.
- Perform triaging/screening and comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments, integrating input from the Veteran, caregiver/family, VA records, and brief assessments when appropriate.
- Complete diagnostic tools including the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) assessment to ensure appropriate housing resources and additional treatment services are received.
- Educate and link Veterans and/or their caregivers to appropriate VA and community resources to address their needs, both individually and in group formats.
- Provide crisis intervention services and referrals to appropriate resources within the VA and community.
Requirements
Applicants must meet the following basic requirements:
- United States Citizenship (non‑citizens may be appointed only when qualified citizens cannot be recruited per VA policy).
- Education: Master’s degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Doctoral degrees in social work may not substitute for the master’s requirement.
- Licensure: Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master’s degree level. For GS‑9 grade level, licensure may be pending with a requirement to obtain it within three years (or within one year after meeting state prerequisites in states with longer prerequisites). For GS‑11 and above, licensure/certification is required at appointment.
- English Language Proficiency: Proficiency in spoken and written English per VA Handbook 5005.
- Physical Requirements: Ability to access various treatment settings, walk long distances for community and street outreach, perform light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds), climb stairs as needed, and drive a motor vehicle (valid driver’s license required).
Grade determinations (GS‑9 to GS‑11) include:
- GS‑9: No experience beyond basic requirements; must demonstrate KSAs such as Veteran‑centric interventions, psychosocial assessment and treatment planning, implementation of treatment modalities, establishing effective working relationships, and fundamental knowledge of medical/mental health diagnoses, disabilities, treatment procedures, medications, and medical terminology.
- GS‑11: Requires either one year of post‑MSW experience equivalent to GS‑9 in health care or social‑work settings (VA or non‑VA) and state licensure/certification at independent practice level, OR a doctoral degree in social work substituting for the experience requirement. Must demonstrate KSAs including knowledge of community resources and referrals, skill in conducting psychosocial assessments and interventions across diverse populations, knowledge of medical/mental health diagnoses and treatment procedures, skill in implementing treatment modalities with individuals, families, and groups, and ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, graduate students, and staff.
Benefits
- Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) authorized – award up to $200,000, eligibility period one to five years (former EDP participants ineligible).
- Paid Time Off: 37‑50 days of annual paid time off per year (13‑26 days annual leave, 13 days sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays). Credit toward annual leave accrual may be granted based on prior work or military service (new‑to‑federal service candidates).
- Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
Pay
Competitive salary with regular salary increases. Pay may be set at a higher step rate of the appropriate grade after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade) for new‑to‑federal service candidates; pay for current federal employees follows federal pay‑setting procedures.
Schedule
Work Schedule: Monday‑Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm; additional tours of duty may be required based on agency needs.
We need to ensure we didn't include any boilerplate like "Learn more", "Contact VISN10HRCCOE@va.gov". Should we include contact? The instruction says remove application instructions. Contact info maybe considered application instructions? It says "Contact VISN10HRCCOE@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistanceLearn more". That's like contact for questions; might be considered application instructions? It's not exactly application but could be considered contact. Safer to omit. Also "Learn more" is vague; omit.
Also we must not repeat job title as heading; we didn't.
Check for any placeholder/filler: We have no "commensurate with experience", etc. All sections have substantive content.
Check for duplication: We included EDRP in About the role and also Benefits; maybe we could combine but it's okay to have both? The instruction: Prefer a few substantive sections over many thin ones. Having EDRP in both About and Benefits may be thin duplication. Better to include EDRP only once, maybe in Benefits section. About the role could just mention eligibility for EDRP briefly but not detail. However we need to preserve ALL substantive information; we can mention eligibility in About the role but not repeat details. That's okay.
But we have details about award amount, eligibility period, application window, former participants ineligible. That is substantive; we could put that in Benefits section. About the role could just say "This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)". That's fine.
Let's adjust: About the role: short paragraph mentioning EDRP eligibility and maybe location? The posting mentions location: Gaylord CBOC, 10 county radius, etc. That's substantive; we should include location and travel requirement. That belongs in About the role or Responsibilities? Could be About the role. Let's incorporate.
Thus About the role: mention EDRP eligibility, location (Gaylord CBOC, serves homeless programs, travel within 10 county radius, up to one hour drive). Also mention full‑time.
Now Benefits: include EDRP details (award up to $200k, eligibility period 1‑5 years, apply within 4 months, former participants ineligible), PTO, parental leave.
Pay: as before.
Schedule: as before.
Requirements: include qualifications, basic requirements, physical requirements, grade determinations.
Responsibilities: as before.
Check for any missing substantive info: The posting also mentions "VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU" and "Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Aleda ELutz Medical Center in Saginaw - Michigan is recruiting for a Social Worker that serves in a full-time capacity within the Homeless Programs under the Social Work Services (SWS) - which includes affiliated community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs)". This is location info; we captured location.
Also "This position is located at the Gaylord CBOC and incumbent will be expected to travel to/from community locations and Veterans homes in a 10 county radius from the CBOC - all within an hour drive of the duty station." We included.
Also "Major duties include - but are not limited to:" we captured duties.
Also "Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pmadditional tours of duty may be required based on needs of the agency" we captured.
Also "Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance):
for prose. Do NOT repeat job title as heading. Do NOT put Job ID/requisition numbers as headings. Preserve ALL substantive information; do NOT invent or summarize away detail. Remove boilerplate etc. Include a section ONLY when posting has real, specific content for it — never emit heading followed by filler/placeholder text. Prefer few substantive sections over many thin ones. We need to parse the posting. Key content: - Summary: eligible for EDRP, details about program, eligibility, award up to $200,000, eligibility period 1-5 years, must apply within four months of appointment. - Qualifications: includes basic requirements: US citizenship, education (master's in social work from CSWE accredited school), licensure (state license at independent practice level), English language proficiency, grade determinations (GS-9 and GS-11 criteria). Also note: The full performance level is GS-9, actual grade range GS-9 to GS-11. - Physical Requirements: ability to access treatment settings, walk long distances, light lifting (/, no markdown fences. Let's craft:
About the role
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) – a student loan payment reimbursement program. Applicants must meet individual eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit an EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program approval determines award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) after review by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the Healthcare of Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Social Worker, providing outreach, assessments, referrals, and case management services to homeless Veterans identified in the community.
- Act as the entry point for Homeless services, offering Veterans an “open door” to the continuum of VA services.
- Provide outreach services as a key element of the HCHV program to reduce homelessness among Veterans by contacting vulnerable and underserved individuals and engaging them in supportive and rehabilitative services.
- Work in the community to provide outreach at shelters, soup kitchens, and other agencies serving the homeless.
- Perform triaging/screening and comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments, integrating input from the Veteran, caregiver/family, VA records, and brief assessments when appropriate.
- Complete diagnostic tools including the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) assessment to ensure appropriate housing resources and additional treatment services are received.
- Educate and link Veterans and/or their caregivers to appropriate VA and community resources to address their needs, both individually and in group formats.
- Provide crisis intervention services and referrals to appropriate resources within the VA and community.
Requirements
Applicants must meet the following basic requirements:
- United States Citizenship (non‑citizens may be appointed only when qualified citizens cannot be recruited per VA policy).
- Education: Master’s degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Doctoral degrees in social work may not substitute for the master’s requirement.
- Licensure: Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master’s degree level. For GS‑9 grade level, licensure may be pending with a requirement to obtain it within three years (or within one year after meeting state prerequisites in states with longer prerequisites). For GS‑11 and above, licensure/certification is required at appointment.
- English Language Proficiency: Proficiency in spoken and written English per VA Handbook 5005.
- Physical Requirements: Ability to access various treatment settings, walk long distances for community and street outreach, perform light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds), climb stairs as needed, and drive a motor vehicle (valid driver’s license required).
Grade determinations (GS‑9 to GS‑11) include:
- GS‑9: No experience beyond basic requirements; must demonstrate KSAs such as Veteran‑centric interventions, psychosocial assessment and treatment planning, implementation of treatment modalities, establishing effective working relationships, and fundamental knowledge of medical/mental health diagnoses, disabilities, treatment procedures, medications, and medical terminology.
- GS‑11: Requires either one year of post‑MSW experience equivalent to GS‑9 in health care or social‑work settings (VA or non‑VA) and state licensure/certification at independent practice level, OR a doctoral degree in social work substituting for the experience requirement. Must demonstrate KSAs including knowledge of community resources and referrals, skill in conducting psychosocial assessments and interventions across diverse populations, knowledge of medical/mental health diagnoses and treatment procedures, skill in implementing treatment modalities with individuals, families, and groups, and ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, graduate students, and staff.
Benefits
- Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) authorized – award up to $200,000, eligibility period one to five years (former EDP participants ineligible).
- Paid Time Off: 37‑50 days of annual paid time off per year (13‑26 days annual leave, 13 days sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays). Credit toward annual leave accrual may be granted based on prior work or military service (new‑to‑federal service candidates).
- Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
Pay
Competitive salary with regular salary increases. Pay may be set at a higher step rate of the appropriate grade after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade) for new‑to‑federal service candidates; pay for current federal employees follows federal pay‑setting procedures.
Schedule
Work Schedule: Monday‑Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm; additional tours of duty may be required based on agency needs.
We need to ensure we didn't include any boilerplate like "Learn more", "Contact VISN10HRCCOE@va.gov". Should we include contact? The instruction says remove application instructions. Contact info maybe considered application instructions? It says "Contact VISN10HRCCOE@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistanceLearn more". That's like contact for questions; might be considered application instructions? It's not exactly application but could be considered contact. Safer to omit. Also "Learn more" is vague; omit. Also we must not repeat job title as heading; we didn't. Check for any placeholder/filler: We have no "commensurate with experience", etc. All sections have substantive content. Check for duplication: We included EDRP in About the role and also Benefits; maybe we could combine but it's okay to have both? The instruction: Prefer a few substantive sections over many thin ones. Having EDRP in both About and Benefits may be thin duplication. Better to include EDRP only once, maybe in Benefits section. About the role could just mention eligibility for EDRP briefly but not detail. However we need to preserve ALL substantive information; we can mention eligibility in About the role but not repeat details. That's okay. But we have details about award amount, eligibility period, application window, former participants ineligible. That is substantive; we could put that in Benefits section. About the role could just say "This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)". That's fine. Let's adjust: About the role: short paragraph mentioning EDRP eligibility and maybe location? The posting mentions location: Gaylord CBOC, 10 county radius, etc. That's substantive; we should include location and travel requirement. That belongs in About the role or Responsibilities? Could be About the role. Let's incorporate. Thus About the role: mention EDRP eligibility, location (Gaylord CBOC, serves homeless programs, travel within 10 county radius, up to one hour drive). Also mention full‑time. Now Benefits: include EDRP details (award up to $200k, eligibility period 1‑5 years, apply within 4 months, former participants ineligible), PTO, parental leave. Pay: as before. Schedule: as before. Requirements: include qualifications, basic requirements, physical requirements, grade determinations. Responsibilities: as before. Check for any missing substantive info: The posting also mentions "VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU" and "Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Aleda ELutz Medical Center in Saginaw - Michigan is recruiting for a Social Worker that serves in a full-time capacity within the Homeless Programs under the Social Work Services (SWS) - which includes affiliated community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs)". This is location info; we captured location. Also "This position is located at the Gaylord CBOC and incumbent will be expected to travel to/from community locations and Veterans homes in a 10 county radius from the CBOC - all within an hour drive of the duty station." We included. Also "Major duties include - but are not limited to:" we captured duties. Also "Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pmadditional tours of duty may be required based on needs of the agency" we captured. Also "Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance):