Social Worker (Program Coordinator)
Department: Department of Veterans Affairs
Location(s): Madison, Wisconsin
Salary Range: $97699 - $127014 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 eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
Major Duties:
- VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program provides personalized, supportive services to families, caregivers, and survivors at the end of a Veteran's life and ensures Veterans without identified family receive dignified burials to honor their service. The incumbent who serves as a SAMS Coordinator at the GS-12 grade is administratively responsible for ensuring compliance with SAMS Program requirements, including but not limited to, overseeing facility decedent affairs business, clinical and evaluation processes to ensure survivors of enrolled Veterans receive award winning contacts when interacting with VA staff, establishing connections with National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), ensuring clinical staff or health care providers notify the Decedent Affairs Clerk/SAMS Specialist or Health Administrative Officer of the Day (HOD), chaplain, and appropriate social work staff of Veterans deaths that occur within the VA medical facility. The incumbent will also need to ensure that there are proper budgetary/financial mechanisms in place to procure funeral, transportation, and/or interment services, when necessary. These mechanisms: e.g., purchase card, local contracts, etc. will be used to coordinate the dignified burial/interment of Veterans when they pass away; especially those who have no known next-of-kin and/or those whose remains are unclaimed. They may be the sole practitioner in this program at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services. They manage and coordinate the daily operations of the SAMS Program, assist in the development of policies and procedures for program operations (including managing the SW on-call schedule) and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to SAMS regarding day-to-day functioning and program evaluation. In conjunction with the Service Chief, plans, organizes, and directs administrative, operational, and personnel activities for the SAMS program. The Acute Care Medical / Surgical Social Worker provides psychosocial and case management services to eligible Veterans and their family members to meet biological, psychological, social and environmental needs on the Acute Care Medical / Surgical Units. Veterans treated come from a wide geographic area. Their health care and psychosocial problems and needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem-solving. The incumbent manages, plans, implements, monitors, and evaluates the delivery of services within the Acute Care Medical / Surgical Units. This includes the inpatient bed sections at the Medical Center for medical and surgical patients. The Acute Care Medical Social Worker is the recognized expert in delivery of social work services to Medical Center care patients. This position serves as a member of an interdisciplinary treatment team SAMS Program Coordination (25%): - Administers information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of service provided to Next-of-Kin (NOK), caregivers and survivors. - Develop and implement information systems to track SAMS Program services. - Collaborate with the VA medical facility Chief of Health Administration Service (HAS), Medical Administration Service (MAS), Business Office, or Patient Administration Services to ensure HODs are properly trained and allocated protected time to execute SAMS duties. - Ensures that certain functions assigned to the Decedent Affairs (DA) Clerk/SAMS Specialist are carried out. Some of those functions are included, but not limited to: Offers administrative support to the primary survivor for the time between the Veteran's death to dignified interment, including referrals to non-VA resources. Assesses remains for unclaimed determination and recommends the appropriate disposition to the VA medical facility Director within 14 calendar days. Coordinates mortuary and interment services for unclaimed remains of Veterans who die under VA - Supervises (based on the needs of the department), a group of employees performing work at various GS levels and provide administrative, technical, and clinical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the SAMS Program. Performs the administrative and personnel management function relative to staff supervised. - Demonstrates knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. - Writes policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the SAMS Program and organizes work, sets Program priorities, meets multiple deadlines, and evaluates SAMS Program metrics and outcomes. - Incumbent establishes guidelines and performance expectations for staff, which are clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system.
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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) 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. 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 for Social Worker GS-0185-12: Experience/Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Preferred Experience: Program development and management preferred but not required. Previous experience with death and dying preferred but not required. 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.
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 01/26/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12861038. 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: 2026-01-26