SUMMARY

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.

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• 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 Master 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).

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/. 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/.

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.

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

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhzuaUU
The VHA is a mission driven, federally funded organization that emphasizes putting the patient first. The mission is to “Honor America’s Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.” VA New England is leading the VHA’s Primary Care initiative in the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model embedded in an innovative, Whole Health oriented Primary Care Delivery System. This system leverages best health care practices built on standardized work processes that optimize the unique contributions of each discipline. We cultivate a highly dynamic, integrative, and collaborative team environment. The PACT model serves a complex panel of Veteran patients. Our patients develop longitudinal relationships with the entire team comprised of clinical pharmacy practitioners, dieticians, social workers and behavioral health providers. This team collaborates to address patient needs, mitigate social determinants of health and proactively manage the health of our population. The social worker in this veteran-centric approach often functions as a care coordinator and case manager for primary care veterans in all settings to ensure that health care meets the needs, as defined by the veteran. The primary care social worker is responsible to answer social work and advance directive consults, to triage and refer veteran needs to other social work practice areas as appropriate, and to utilize population health management to provide proactive outreach in order to improve quality of care. The role of a social worker case manager in the PACT is to assess and treat psychosocial and environmental factors that impact the patient’s ability to achieve maximum health and wellness. Social work case managers assess the patient’s psychological and emotional adjustment to illness within the context of medical diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Maintaining effective therapeutic relationships with veterans in the primary care clinic and/or their families.
• Completing thorough psychosocial assessments to determine the psychosocial functions and needs of veterans and/or their families.
• Actively participating as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Facilitating action for community placements through collaboration with veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate community placements are completed in a timely manner.
• Serving as a liaison between veterans and/or their families and VA and community resources in order to ensure thorough delivery of services.
• Providing consultation and education to veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits and specialty programs and advance directives.
• Providing consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of veterans and/or families and the impact the issues may have on the veterans health care planning and compliance with treatment.
• Making referrals to community and other governmental programs and agencies.
• Providing case management services to the veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm.
Compressed/Flexible:Not Available
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Karen Chapman (karen.chapman@va.gov), the EDRP Coordinator 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 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: Telework may be authorized Ad Hoc as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PDF02514 and PDf2513

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 (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master’s degree level.
• Master’s degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
• Resume
• SF-1

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 09/08/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12788925.

• 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