Social Worker (Mental Health Treatment Coordinator)
What you'd do
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.
Major duties
Serve as a member of a BHIP team as the MHTC, which has primary responsibility for Mental Health (MH) Care Coordination (CC) on the team. Complete MHTC needs assessment as part of Veteran care planning. Complete or review the 5-point screening for MH patients. Participate in care planning to ensure integration of CC interventions within the overall care plan. Use clinical decision support tools (e.g., BHIP CC dashboards, REACH VET, STORM, etc.) to help determine CC needs. Use specific MHTC note templates to communicate with the MH PCMM Coordinator and ensure the BHIP team and MHTC assignments are entered and updated in PCMM so current MHTC assignments are visible in the EHR. Participate in frequent team huddles (e.g., daily) and team meetings (e.g., weekly) and help organize flow of team huddle. Outreach or facilitate outreach to Veteran to promote care continuity when other team members are unavailable (e.g., triage Veteran needs). Ensure ongoing contact with Veteran, as clinically indicated, to promote engagement in care. Provide information/education to other healthcare and service providers to facilitate recognizing and respecting the Veteran's needs, strengths, and goals. Serve as the ongoing POC and clinical resource that promotes treatment engagement, especially during care transitions along the continuum of MH specialty and subspecialty care. Ensure the Veteran (and family/caregiver/supportive person as appropriate) has access to education, information, and resources for proactive self-management, including but not limited to mobile apps and online resources, Whole Health interventions, safety resources, linkages to community and other resources. Advocate for Veterans by working for systems improvement and eliminating healthcare disparities to promote Veteran well-being. Is available to Veterans to answer questions about needs, upcoming visits, care plans, and other questions not already handled by BHIP treating provider(s). Flexibly provide same-day access and walk-in services (i.e., triage, and either address immediate needs that do not require a treating provider and/or handoff to a treating provider, as needed). Aid in crisis intervention, as needed (e.g., manages medical and mental health emergencies appropriately, including suicidal and homicidal ideation). Collaborates with Suicide Prevention Coordinator and others to identify Veterans at high risk for suicide and others with complex needs to increase monitoring and targeted suicide prevention strategies. Enter and ensure necessary consults and referrals are entered. Collaborate with UCC, inpatient, and residential services to coordinate admission and discharge planning. Facilitate urgent appointments and warm handoffs, as needed, with BHIP treating team members. Facilitate PACT assignments for Veterans not yet assigned to PACT, when appropriate. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 0800-1630 Compressed/Flexible: May be available upon management discretion Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [email protected], 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: Available, Ad-Hoc only Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) Licensure/Certification. 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/. (COPY OF LICENSE REQUIRED FOR GS-11) Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline. GRADE DETERMINATIONS: GS-9 Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. GS-11 Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. OR, Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. (c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Experience with care coordination and Veterans. REFERENCE: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://department.va.gov/employees/va-qualifications-standards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026.
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