Senior Social Worker

Veterans Health Administration; Eglin Air Force Base (FL); On-site; USD 78,000 - 116,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration in the United States is seeking a PCMHI Senior Social Worker to join the Mental Health Service and work within a Collocated Collaborative Care (CCE) model in Primary Care. The role emphasizes collaboration with PCPs and the PACT to deliver high-quality care.

Responsibilities include maintaining open access slots, conducting brief functional assessments, and documenting notes for team coordination.

Qualifications

• Education recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment.

Responsibilities

• Collaborates with PCPs and the interdisciplinary PACT to support high quality, effective, and coordinated service delivery at the patient and programmatic levels.
• Maintains daily open access slots and encourages same day warm handoffs within PACT.
• Completes most individual appointments (e.g., 75%) within 30 minutes.
• Uses Measurement Based Care (MBC) in accordance with nationally recommended guidelines for PCMHI.
• Conducts initial functional assessments focused on the main reason(s) for referral and shorter than traditional evaluations.
• Writes clear notes optimized for collaboration within PACT based on PCMHI CCC assessments and follow-up guidelines.
• Notes document important elements for team collaboration (e.g., MBC, curbside consultation, liaison with specialty care providers).
• Engages in PACT huddles and meetings to cultivate collaborative team functioning and serve as a subject matter expert for behavioral health considerations.
• Provides education to PACT on behavioral health and health behavior issues, motivation, and behavior change.
• Serves on Medical Center/Healthcare System, VISN, or National VA committees or task forces as endorsed by supervisors.

Job description

• Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

The Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Senior Social Worker position is administratively aligned with the Mental Health Service and is assigned as a Collocated Collaborative Care (CCE) behavior health consultant in Primary Care. PCMHI is a component of the interdisciplinary Patrient Aligned Care Team(PACT).

PCMHI is a component of the interdisciplinary Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT).

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborates with PCPs and the interdisciplinary PACT to support high quality, effective, and coordinated service delivery at the patient and programmatic levels.
• Maintains daily open access slots and encourages same day warm handoffs within PACT.
• Completes most individual appointments (e.g., 75%) within 30 minutes.
• Uses Measurement Based Care (MBC) in accordance with nationally recommended guidelines for PCMHI.
• Conducts initial functional assessments that are focused on the main reason(s) for referral and are less extensive than traditional mental health intake evaluations (e.g., 30 minutes vs. 60 or 90 minutes for traditional evaluation).
• Writes clear, concise notes that are optimized for collaboration within PACT based on the PCMHI CCC functional assessment and follow up visit guidelines.
• Notes document important elements for team collaboration (e.g., MBC, curbside consultation/team care discussion, liaison with specialty care providers) as appropriate.
• Engages in PACT huddles and meetings to cultivate collaborative team functioning and serve as a subject matter expert for behavioral health considerations.
• Provides education to PACT on behavioral health and health behavior issues, as well as tips to promote effective patient communication, motivational enhancement, and behavior change.
• Serves on Medical Center or Healthcare System, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces, as endorsed by supervisors.

Benefits and Conditions

• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday: 08:00am-4:30pm (Subject to Change Based on the Needs of the Facility).
• Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized.
• Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.
• 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 sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement). Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Functional Statement # 00706-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. 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.

Requirements & 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/.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $78468 – $116362/yr.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-10-20.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Fed Internal Search' hiring path.