The incumbent is primarily responsible for providing psychosocial and mental health assessment, diagnosis, treatment, care management, case management, crisis intervention, behavioral health and evidence-based psychotherapy services to Veterans, their families/caregivers in the outpatient and specialty care clinic setting across the North Florida / South Georgia Veterans Health System (NF/SGVHS) working within the Mental Health Service located in Tallahassee, FL.
Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement, which is 10/09/2025. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. 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 masters of social work. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series at the 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/. 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 employment termination. Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker GS-12 Experience and Education: The candidate must have at least two (2) years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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. Advanced Practice Licensure must be submitted with your application. 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). Preferred Experience: Previous years of case Mental Health experience. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/19. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Able the meet the physical demands of the position, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. They must have good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. The job entails walking, standing, bending, traveling among several different floors/stories, sitting, working on a computer, carrying objects.
The duties of the Mental Health Clinic Senior Social Worker include: Requires an advanced level of knowledge and understanding of the bio psychosocial and mental health needs of Veterans, and their families/caregivers. Understands and applies related procedures and policies, federal, state and community resources, and VA benefits in the care and treatment of Veterans and their families/caregivers in assigned areas. Performs case finding functions in identifying and screening patients for psychosocial and mental health needs. Utilizes advanced clinical training insight and experience to interpret medical, mental health and psychosocial needs and identify viable treatment options, which may require independent decisions to modify or cancel elements of discharge plans developed by professional colleagues. Conducts psychosocial and mental health assessments and develops patient-centered treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran and their family/caregiver and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Coordinates community based services, including information and referral for additional services from VA, other government entities, and community agency programs, with the goal to promote independence in the home setting for the Veteran as long as possible. Identifies high risk patients and provides case/care management services and provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause, as well as, presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and services as a liaison to family members/caregivers. Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and families/caregivers. Provides consultation services to multidisciplinary colleagues and students regarding the psychosocial, behavioral health and mental health needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial/behavioral health/mental health needs/problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not available. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not available. 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 #: Senior Social Worker (Mental Health Clinic), FS #55646F