Senior Social Worker

Summary

The Senior Social Worker serves on a multidisciplinary team and is administrative responsibility for clinical program development, accountable for clinical program effectiveness and program facilitation. These positions provide support to the National Center for Warrior Independence at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in Los Angeles, California.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This announcement will fill Senior Social Worker vacancies within the Community Engagement and Reintegration Service (CERS) located at the Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in Los Angeles, California. Duties may include but are not limited to: CERS - HUD-VASH: HUD-VASH is a permanent supportive housing program combining HUD housing vouchers with VA case management. The program helps Veterans exit homelessness by pairing rental assistance with clinical support, life-skills coaching, and long-term case management to maintain stable housing. CERS - HCHV Street Outreach: HCHV Street Outreach teams engage unsheltered Veterans living in encampments, vehicles, streets, and other unsafe settings. Outreach staff identify vulnerable Veterans, offer immediate connection to VA services, provide crisis intervention, and link Veterans to treatment, rehabilitative programs, and transitional or permanent housing pathways. CERS - Care, Treatment & Rehabilitation Service (CTRS): CTRS is a low-barrier, harm-reduction program on the West LA campus that supplies safe shelter (tiny shelters), healthcare access, behavioral health support, meals, hygiene facilities, and housing assistance for unsheltered Veterans. Its mission is to stabilize high-risk Veterans and move them toward permanent housing. CERS - HPACT (Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team): HPACT provides a walk-in, integrated medical home for homeless Veterans, offering primary care, mental health, social work, hygiene resources, and intensive case management all in one place. The model reduces barriers to care and supports faster connection to housing, improved health outcomes, and decreased emergency visits. CERS - Behavioral Emergency Response Team: VA Behavioral Emergency Response functions through specialized crisis-response teams such as VMET/VRT that pair VA clinicians with VA police and local law enforcement to respond to Veterans experiencing acute mental health crises in the community. These teams prioritize immediate intervention, suicide prevention, and rapid connection to VA care. Mental Health - ACTTeam (Assertive Community Treatment): ACT Teams provide intensive, community-based, multidisciplinary support for Veterans with serious mental illness who struggle to engage in traditional outpatient care. Staff offer psychiatry, case management, crisis intervention, medication support, and rehabilitation directly in community settings to maintain stability and reduce hospitalizations. (Supported by ACT-related positions listed in enterprise data.) Mental Health - Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI): PCMHI embeds mental health clinicians directly within primary care, allowing Veterans to receive brief therapy, behavioral health interventions, suicide risk screening, and medication support without needing a specialty referral. This model improves access, reduces stigma, and supports whole-person care alongside Veterans' PACT teams. Work Schedule: Various tours of duty based on the needs of the service. Compressed/Flexible: May be available based on the needs of the service. Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: May be approved for highly qualified applicants. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. 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) 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 #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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. 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 4 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/ 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements listed above for employment, the following criteria must be met: 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