SUMMARY

The Mental Health Behavioral Sciences Social Worker (Program Coordinator) is a member of the Bridge the Gap Team within the Mental Health service line of Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System (NAVAHCS), located at the Prescott VA facility. The Bridge the Gap Team consists of a Program Manager, Psychiatrist, Psychologist, and Social Worker that operate in collaboration with the Primary Care Mental Health Integrated (PCMHI) Team, service line programs, and other departments at the facility.

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 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.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed 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. [A copy of current license showing date of issuance and expiration must be submitted with application]
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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).

EDUCATION

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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/.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. YOUR APPLICATION, RESUME, C.V., AND/OR SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION WILL BE VERIFIED. PLEASE FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. ERRORS OR OMISSIONS MAY AFFECT CONSIDERATION FOR EMPLOYMENT.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

IF YOU ARE RELYING ON YOUR EDUCATION TO MEET QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

DUTIES

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinates and triages disposition of referrals to MHBS Service Line (e.g., Primary Care, Specialty Care, other VAs, and self-referrals): referrals from other MHBS services (e.g., Domiciliary, Homeless Programs and IOP); as well as referrals within MH disciplines (e.g., Psychiatry, Therapy, Neuropsychology).
• Provides expert clinical services and consultation in addition to Crisis Assessment and Intervention; comprehensive Assessments and Evidence-Based Interventions (Individual, Group and Family Therapy); consultation to other Mental Health and Medical Providers throughout the Facility and its satellite CBOC’s/PTOC’s.
• Coordinates outpatient follow-up for patients discharging from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and/or residential treatment (i.e., the Domiciliary).
• Tracks patients to ensure access to appropriate and timely mental health care and providing enhanced care coordination to Veterans.
• Provides outreach to Veterans flagged as high risk for suicide and not engaged in MH services. This involves working collaboratively with the Suicide Prevention Program.
• Develops and maintains a system to ensure follow-up with patients who miss initial consult appointments.
• Triages and manages of electronic consults received by MHBS to include the timely assignment, scheduling, and closure of the consults.
• Provides same day and short-term gap coverage in the event a Provider is out of the office or position is vacant to ensure that same access is an option provided to each Veteran.
• Develops policies and procedures related to Access to Care, including evaluating processes and procedures to ensure timely and effective referral, disposition, and follow-up services.
• Functions independently to maximize Access to Care and identify possible barriers to care.
• Develops a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program to include collecting, analyzing, and reporting program data to management, and as requested preparing reports for the facility, VISN, and VACO.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized to highly qualified candidates
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: Ad Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
Bargaining Unit: Yes

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
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Resume
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcrip

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 08/18/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12777587.

• To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
• Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package