Social Worker (Generalist)

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. Education: Master’s degree in social work (MSW) 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-185 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 on the OHRM website. The incumbent is licensed at the independent level to practice in a state. If not fully licensed at an acceptable independent social work practice level, a candidate has 3 years to become fully licensed as a condition of employment. English Language Proficiency: Social Workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, paragraph 3j. Grade Determinations: Knowledge of Current Professional Social Work Practices: To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-MSW degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board. Quality of Experience: Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master’s degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level. GS-9 Social Worker: Experience, Education and Licensure: GS-9 is the entry level grade for the GS-185 social work series. Social workers at the GS-9 level are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure or certification. VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the independent level at the time of their appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. At the GS-9 level, candidates 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. GS-11 Social Worker: Specialized 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. 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. In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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. Assignments: At the full performance level GS-11, social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. They are assigned to all program areas, including Medicine and Surgery, Primary and Specialty Care, Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Extended Care, Homeless Services, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), Health Care Centers (HCCs) and other community based VA programs and clinics.Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-185 social work series and may result in termination of employment. 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. 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 become licensed or certified within the proscribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-185 social work series and may result in termination of employment. For the GS-09, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment, the incumbent must become licensed or certified at the independent, master’s level within 3 years of their appointment as a social worker. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39, SOCIAL WORKER QUALIFICATION STANDARD. IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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: There are no special physical qualifications to perform the work. The work requires the ability to move around an office and/or the facility. The work is performed in offices and meeting rooms.
This is an open continuous announcement until October 31, 2024. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available for Salisbury, Charlotte and Kernersville.