Senior Social Worker - Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO)/Healthcare for Reentry Veterans (HCRV)

Senior Social Worker - Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO)/Healthcare for Reentry Veterans (HCRV)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Wichita, Kansas

Salary Range: $97017 - $126128 Per Year

Job Summary: 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:

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO)/Healthcare for Re-entry Veterans (HCRV) Specialist is a Senior Social Worker whose primary responsibilities are to provide psychosocial assessments, case management services, continuous quality improvement activities, evaluation/consultation, placement services, and referral and linkage to various community agencies for Veterans who are within 6 months of release from correctional institutions and/or are being monitored by the courts, including treatment or problem-solving courts. The VJO/HCRV Specialist is also administratively responsible for clinical programming and daily operation of the Veterans Justice Program, implementation and ensuring compliance with the Veterans Justice Program Directive, and management of program data. The Senior Social Worker in this position requires an advanced level of knowledge and understanding of the services and benefits available from community, state, and federal agencies. The incumbent must have skill in diplomacy, patient advocacy, and negotiation in spanning boundaries of multiple large institutions, including VA, the courts, and/or corrections. The position requires knowledge of correctional cultures and their impact upon Veteran, institutional, and community perceptions and behavior, as well as skill assisting Veterans to adopt their behaviors adaptive to community living. Additional functions of this position include, but are not limited to: Conducting active outreach to Veterans involved with the justice system. Developing processes to gain access to criminal justice settings and obtaining appropriate security clearances, completing required trainings, and presenting program information to correctional officials and officers. Educating agency and criminal justice staff to create cultural competency. Performing work in maximum, medium, or minimum-security correctional institutions. Assessing high risk factors, acuity, and the need for services. Identifying and interviewing justice-involved Veterans in the appropriate setting to conduct treatment needs and assessments and determining appropriate referrals, linkage and coordination for agency and non-agency services. Developing treatment-matching services which provide an initial determination of needs and which aid in developing initial treatment plans. Serving as a member of the court treatment team. Assisting Veterans in services stabilization by consulting and intervening as needed. Building and sustaining relationships with agency and community partners, court officials, and other staff. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am -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 VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@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) 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 NPI/Taxonomy code: Required; must be eligible for an NPI number as a condition of employment.

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 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/. 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.] 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 as stated above, the GS-12 Senior Social Worker must meet the following requirements: Experience and 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 judgement. 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/source of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary but requires distance driving. It may require some occassional lifting (10-35 lbs). Requires reaching above shoulder, twisting neck with ability to see from side to side with range of motion of at least 45 degrees, and ability to coordnate all four extremeties. Position requires frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day), sitting (4-7 hours per day), walking up to 6 hours per day, or standing up to 8 hours a day. Infrequent climbing/descending of stairs and some bending. Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously. Incumbent is responsible to operate a government-owned/-leased vehicle and/or driving patients, to properly carry out assigned duties. Incumbents must possess [and maintain] a valid, unrestricted State driver's license, have a safe driving record, and demonstrate that they are medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely.

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 02/18/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12833354. 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: 2026-02-18