Senior Social Worker (HCHV Outreach)

Veterans Health Administration (DOVA); San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 115,000 - 149,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration (DOVA) in San Diego, CA is seeking a Senior Social Worker to support the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program. The role focuses on outreach, case management, and coordination of mental health and community care services for Veterans in the community.

The position requires an MSW, state licensure, and US citizenship, with a GS-12 pay grade and a salary range of $114,695 – $149,106 per year.

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Masters in Social Work from an accredited program (CSWE).
• Must be licensed or certified to independently practice social work.

Responsibilities

• Functions as outreach specialist and case manager for Veterans in the HCHV program.
• Collaborates with HCHV team, VASH, and other clinics to provide comprehensive care.
• Screens and assesses Veterans with high-risk factors and identifies treatment needs.
• Provides outreach at CBOCs, community agencies, and VA facilities.
• Interviews Veterans and families to assess risk factors and determine impact.
• Develops psychosocial treatment plans with Veterans and families.
• Refers Veterans to VA and community services including shelters and benefits.
• Coordinates with community organizations to learn services and provide VA information.
• Provides counseling and crisis management services to maintain safety.
• Conducts home and community-based visits to encourage integration.

Skills

Outreach

Case management

Collaboration

Crisis counseling

Education

MSW degree

Job description

Summary

The Senior Social Worker practices in the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program and serves a patient population with highly complex health and mental health problems. The HCHV program is based at a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), but social workers provide services to clients primarily in the community.

Overview

Location: San Diego, CA

Work schedule: Full-time

Salary: $114,695 – $149,106 per year

Pay grade: GS 12

Travel: Not required

Appointment type: Permanent

Telework: Not Available

Duties

• Functions as an outreach specialist and case manager for Veterans in the HCHV program, performing duties to facilitate transition to independent community living by coordinating mental health and community care.
• Collaborates with other members of the HCHV team, the Grant and Per Diem programs, the VA Supportive Housing (VASH) program and other professional specialty clinics to provide comprehensive care to Veterans in the HCHV program.
• Screens and assess Veterans with multiple high-risk factors, and identifying treatment needs which may impact the Veteran’s adjustment to their environment, and established treatment goals.
• Provides outreach at CBOC, community agencies where homeless congregate and on inpatient units at the VA Medical Center.
• Interviews the Veteran and their family members or significant others, to assess high risk factors and establish facts about the Veteran’s situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veteran’s functioning and health.
• Develops psychosocial treatments plans, actively involving the Veteran and their family or significant others, in coordination with other team members, based on the assessments, including goals for clinical treatment.
• Refers Veterans to appropriate VA and other government/community services including local shelters, food banks, employment services, and Veteran’s benefits.
• Coordinates with community agencies, organizations, and groups to learn of services of resources available for homeless Veterans, as well as provide current information on VA services and benefits.
• Provides advice, guidance, emotional support and other assistance and provides individual and group counseling services as well as crisis management services needed to maintain the Veteran safely in their community.
• Conducts home visits and community-based visits to maintain and encourage community integration.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements. Effective May 7, 2025, driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

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: Have a masters 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 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/.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

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 clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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/.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Professional Certification
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Other (1)
• Professional Certification
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade
• Award 50’s do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50’s include:
• Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
• Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
• SF-50’s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Agency contact information

Jorge Delarosa

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Address:

San Diego VA Medical Center
3350 La Jolla Village Drive
San Diego, CA 92161
US