What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Social Worker (HUD/VASH) position at Columbia VA Health Care System?
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.
Basic Requirements:
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 tohttp://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).
Grade Determinations:
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 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.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a)Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
(b)Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
(c)Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
(d)Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
(e)Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.
Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.
Preferred Experience: Preferred Homeless populations experience; coverage area will be mandatory travel to Florence and Sumter coverage areas.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is 12.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
General Description of Assigned Duties:
The social worker in this position functions as the Medical Center's Housing and Urban Development/Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD/VASH) Social Worker for the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program. The social worker is responsible for providing home-based assessment, monitoring, maintaining and case management of higher acuity Veterans in the HUD/VASH Program as part of an interdisciplinary team. The HUD-VASH Program requires continuous coordination with the community's homeless providers and coalitions as well as with other local, state, and federal agencies. The HUD-VASH Social Worker develops, coordinates and maintains linkages as appropriate and needed for the homeless veteran population. The HUD- VASH Program Social Worker works with an interdisciplinary team to ensure care is coordinated with the VA Medical Center, community health/mental health and/or substance abuse providers and/or any other applicable agencies to meet the needs of the veterans utilizing the HUD-VASH Program either directly or via assignment. The GS-12 HUD/VASH Social Worker is capable of practicing independently at the advanced level and has specialized knowledge, skills and abilities of practice related to a particular diagnosis or special Veteran population such as the Homeless Veteran with highly GS-0185-12 Senior Social Worker F.S.# 61293F FLSA: Exempt BUS Code: 8888 Vetted: 03/30/2026 2 complex health, mental health and/or substance abuse problems requiring expert level of psychosocial interventions.
Functions:
Incumbent is a professional social worker assigned to the HUD/VASH Program. The incumbent must use a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of homeless Veterans and their families/significant others. The incumbent must complete thorough assessments to determine the underlying causes of the presenting problem, the interpersonal and environmental factors impacting the problem, and its effect on the patient's ability and desire to comply with the treatment recommendations by the multidisciplinary team.
Administrative:
Completes all reports, data, and maintain logs with outcome of meetings related to the HUD/VASH Program. Is responsible for furthering one's own professional growth through continuing education and for ensuring continuing education appropriate to the area of assignment. Develops a working relationship with the designated HUD point of contact and coordinates the housing voucher application and award process for each veteran. Maintains accurate records of admission and discharge dates of veterans utilizing HUDVASH vouchers. The senior social worker exercises initiative and independent judgement in day to day activities. The senior social worker initiates consultation for unusual and/or complex administrative or clinical problems. The senior social worker reports administratively to the HCHV program Coordinator/designee.
Also other duties as assigned per management.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
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 lena.gowder@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: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 54962F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
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).
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 tohttp://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).
Grade Determinations:
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 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.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a)Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
(b)Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
(c)Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
(d)Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
(e)Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.
Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.
Preferred Experience: Preferred Homeless populations experience; coverage area will be mandatory travel to Florence and Sumter coverage areas.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is 12.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
Responsibilities:
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UUTotal Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
General Description of Assigned Duties:
The social worker in this position functions as the Medical Center's Housing and Urban Development/Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD/VASH) Social Worker for the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program. The social worker is responsible for providing home-based assessment, monitoring, maintaining and case management of higher acuity Veterans in the HUD/VASH Program as part of an interdisciplinary team. The HUD-VASH Program requires continuous coordination with the community's homeless providers and coalitions as well as with other local, state, and federal agencies. The HUD-VASH Social Worker develops, coordinates and maintains linkages as appropriate and needed for the homeless veteran population. The HUD- VASH Program Social Worker works with an interdisciplinary team to ensure care is coordinated with the VA Medical Center, community health/mental health and/or substance abuse providers and/or any other applicable agencies to meet the needs of the veterans utilizing the HUD-VASH Program either directly or via assignment. The GS-12 HUD/VASH Social Worker is capable of practicing independently at the advanced level and has specialized knowledge, skills and abilities of practice related to a particular diagnosis or special Veteran population such as the Homeless Veteran with highly GS-0185-12 Senior Social Worker F.S.# 61293F FLSA: Exempt BUS Code: 8888 Vetted: 03/30/2026 2 complex health, mental health and/or substance abuse problems requiring expert level of psychosocial interventions.
Functions:
Incumbent is a professional social worker assigned to the HUD/VASH Program. The incumbent must use a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of homeless Veterans and their families/significant others. The incumbent must complete thorough assessments to determine the underlying causes of the presenting problem, the interpersonal and environmental factors impacting the problem, and its effect on the patient's ability and desire to comply with the treatment recommendations by the multidisciplinary team.
Administrative:
Completes all reports, data, and maintain logs with outcome of meetings related to the HUD/VASH Program. Is responsible for furthering one's own professional growth through continuing education and for ensuring continuing education appropriate to the area of assignment. Develops a working relationship with the designated HUD point of contact and coordinates the housing voucher application and award process for each veteran. Maintains accurate records of admission and discharge dates of veterans utilizing HUDVASH vouchers. The senior social worker exercises initiative and independent judgement in day to day activities. The senior social worker initiates consultation for unusual and/or complex administrative or clinical problems. The senior social worker reports administratively to the HCHV program Coordinator/designee.
Also other duties as assigned per management.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
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 lena.gowder@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: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 54962F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
Salary : $417