Duties

Summary

Performs a wide variety of duties in support of professional social workers, providing assistance and services as prescribed for individual cases by social workers in conjunction with their professional treatment. Assignments include interviewing patients and others for informational or service purposes; handling selected referrals to social and health facilities; obtaining and compiling data and similar types of work.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

PLEASE VIEW ANNOUNCEMENT DIRECTLY FROM WWW.USAJOBS.GOV . PAY ATTENTION TO HIRING PATH CLARIFICATION, REQUIREMENTS SECTION, AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTS SECTION.

• Work with clerical staff in the determination of the initial eligibility of the Veteran applicant for the program.
• Ensures that eligible Veterans are screened for care In accordance with established guidelines.
• Gathers Information from the Veteran, the medical record, or the referral source to assist in making the determination for program admission.
• Conducts a face-to-face interview with the Veteran applicant to provide important program information as well as to gather information concerning the Veteran's circumstance so that the screening team can have adequate Information concerning the admission decision.
• Contacts all Veterans In "pending" status at least weekly for case management updates, to provide Information and community program linkage until admission to program.
• If a Veteran Is not accepted, provides linkage to community program resources for other appropriate alternatives.
• Provides those services that support the social workers' treatment or discharge planning responsibilities.
• Follows up on the acquisition of documents, reports, or information needed for social work treatment or discharge planning.
• Makes telephone calls or personal contacts on behalf of social workers to providers, nurses, families, community nursing home personnel, community agencies, and significant others.
• Investigates community resources and makes information about them available to social work staff.
• Participates in program planning and in the development of sound working relationships with Medical Center personnel, community agencies, and other governmental and community agencies.
• Interview people to establish the nature and extent of their problems, assist in deciding the appropriate course of action, providing the services indicated In their scope, and providing follow-up to ensure continuity of care.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Social Worker Associate/PD08582-O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Travel Required

50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/13/2020.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position in this occupational series the VA Qualification Standards indicate the next lower grade is GS-05. You must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 grade level to meet the Time in Grade requirements. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

REQUIREMENTS
Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English.

Experience
GS-7: One year of experience as a social welfare worker or social work assistant in a voluntary, public, social, or health agency.

QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE: Must have been of a quality and scope to enable applicants to perform assignments typical of the grade level for which considered. For GS-7, applicants must have had 1 year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the next lower grade in the Federal service.

DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIREMENT: A driver's license in the State or Territory in which assigned is required.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Clinical Data Collection/Documentation
• Compliance
• Customer Service
• Patient Care

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Requires usable vision, color vision, hearing, and speech. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation may also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to: the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application. Must clearly show it is an *official copy. *Can be a personal copy.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified : applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process

Required Documents

All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):

• Resume which must include : Details of duties performed, Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), Hours worked per week; and Salary for each job. This information is necessary to determine level and length of Specialized Experience. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.
• Transcript - Personal copy showing conferred Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English.
• Other-Driver's License

Applicants may also submit the following supporting document type(s),which may not be required for all applicants:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Proof of Marriage Status
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

**We are only able to mark documents as required if every applicant is required to submit. You must use the checklist below to identify required documents based on your application status.**

Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

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.