Senior Social Worker (Mental Health/Same Day Access)

Senior Social Worker (Mental Health/Same Day Access)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Richmond, Virginia

Salary Range: $106735 - $138758 Per Year

Job Summary: Works for the Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Richmond, Virginia, as a direct report to the Social Work Service Line and is assigned to Mental Health Same Day Access and Transition Clinic.

Major Duties:

• Practices at an advanced level and has specialized knowledge and experience related to crisis intervention and management. Conducts biopsychosocial triage assessments, utilizes evidence-based interventions, and formulates and implements short-term treatment plans for Veterans presenting for mental health same day access services. These Veterans are often clinically and psychosocially complex and require time sensitive evaluation of risk and appropriate disposition. Evaluates Veterans in crisis for involuntary psychiatric commitment and completes appropriate paperwork for involuntary psychiatric commitment when necessary. Manage all aspects of the involuntary psychiatric commitment process and act as a subject matter expert for other providers on this process. Completes comprehensive suicide assessments, identifying risk and protective factors, and can clearly interpret the safety and recommended level of care for the Veteran. Completes sound suicide safety plans and lethal means counseling to mitigate risk. Provides support for outpatient (non-PACT) medical clinics, including, but not limited to, assessment of Veterans who report urgent mental health concerns or screen positive for suicidal thoughts, plans, or intent. Responsible for the continuity of care for Veterans presenting for same day or urgent mental health services by providing time-sensitive evaluation, intervention, and disposition. Provides coverage for the outpatient mental health transition clinic ensuring continuity of care for Veterans recently discharged from inpatient mental health treatment. Performs other directly related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am - 4:30pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives: 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). 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: Ad Hoc - As determined by the agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Qualifications: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: 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). 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-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/. GS-12: Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Experience and Education. Do you possess at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level? Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple caution in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/23/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12908926. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-23