Senior Social Worker - Veterans Justice Program and Grant and Per Diem Liaison

Summary

MAY be eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. Applicants selected for an EDRP-eligible position will be notified in their conditional job offer. Must meet specific eligibility requirements and submit EDRP application within 4 months of appointment. Program approval, award amount, and eligibility period are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.

Duties

• This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until filled or September 30, 2027. All eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred to the hiring manager at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Functions Engages regularly with judges, court personnel, correctional administrators, and other justice-system stakeholders to develop, review, and maintain policies and procedures that support justice-involved Veterans. Conducts proactive outreach within correctional facilities and treatment court programs, identifying and interviewing justice-involved Veterans to complete comprehensive needs assessments. Coordinates referrals, service linkages, and care planning to ensure continuity of care during transitions back to the community, including release from jail or prison. Serves as a case manager for justice-involved Veterans in treatment courts or recently released from correctional institutions, facilitating access to VA health care, mental health services, benefits, and community-based resources to support stable, independent reintegration. Performs duties across varying security levels while adhering to VA safety protocols in challenging environments that may involve psychiatric crises, acute medical issues, or high-risk behaviors. Responsible for the oversight and management of assigned GPD programs, including contract administration, enrollment process, accurate billing, timely payments, and community outreach with a focus on developing strong partnerships, including in rural areas. Establishes and maintains referral, evaluation, and admission procedures; conducts complex clinical case reviews; ensures compliance through program audits; and supports accreditation activities for agencies such as the Joint Commission and CART. Monitors performance measures, implements improvement plans, and takes a leadership role in service line and team meetings. Provides a full range of advanced social work services, including case work, counseling, discharge planning, case management, and continuity-of-care coordination with interdisciplinary teams. Coordinates community-based services for Veterans, serving as an advocate to ensure comprehensive service delivery and linking them. This includes participating in VJP and GPD program conference calls, training for homeless programs, and ensuring adherence to local policies, documentation standards, and data submission requirements such as HOMES. This position requires documenting all patient interactions, preparing reports per VAHCS policy, participating in treatment planning, and serving as a social work expert across teams. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday. 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Recruitmen Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Position listed under this Open Continuous Announcement (OCA) MAY be eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. Applicants selected for an EDRP-eligible position will be notified in their conditional job offer. The selectee must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit an 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 review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions/assistance. Learn more 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…

Qualifications

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until filled or September 30, 2027. All eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred to the hiring manager at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis. 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: 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/. 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-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification: Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to expand…

Education

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/.