The Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Senior Social Worker provides a full range of mental health services to Veterans enrolled in the Primary Care clinics to include diagnostic, psychological, and cognitive screening assessments; psychotherapy; psychoeducation and caregiver support; and prevention-oriented services, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches within the North Florida/South Georgia catchment area located in Jacksonville, FL.
Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement, which is 10/20/2025. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. 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). 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-185 series at the 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/. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in employment termination. Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker GS-12 Experience and Education: The candidate must have at least two (2) years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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. Advanced Practice Licensure must be submitted with your application. 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). Preferred Experience: Previous Mental Health experience. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Senior Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/19, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Able to meet the physical demands of the position, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. They must have good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. The job entails walking, standing, bending, traveling among several different stories/floors, sitting, working on a computer, carrying objects.
Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) The PCMHI Senior Social Worker utilizes evidence-based and best practice approaches to assist Veterans, caregivers, and staff in managing behavioral factors associated with chronic medical problems and in promoting medical compliance. The clinician functions as a full member of the Primary Care clinic teams and provides ongoing team consultation services to other Primary Care clinic team members. PCMHI Senior Social Workers may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities, and may provide clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training. Major duties of the Senior Social Worker in these clinics include, but are not limited to: Individual/group evidence-based treatments to Veterans. Participate in a shared decision-making model of care to collaboratively determine which psychotherapy modalities are most appropriate based on the Veteran's individual and intersecting cultural factors, goals, strengths, needs, abilities, and preferences. Ensure appropriate documentation to include measures of effectiveness and Veteran response using clinical judgment and standardized assessment instruments. Developing, implementing, and documenting the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt of clinical reminders. Delivering services both in person and via video technology. Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients. Actively participating in Mental Health Service Line, facility, and program meetings. Assisting in the ongoing process improvement initiatives of the PCMHI Training Program. Perform all other duties as assigned. Academic/Teaching/Training: Provides consultation and training to Primary Care Service Line staff in the identification and management of common mental and behavioral health disorders that present in a primary care setting when indicated. Provides clinical supervision to social work interns and other health profession trainees. Administrative/Program Evaluation/Outcome Measurement/Research Assists the PCMHI Program Coordinator in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers. Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team, established by the affiliated PCMHI Program Manager. Assist the program PCMHI Program Coordinator in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients. Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). Other Significant Responsibilities May serve on Medical Center committees or task forces specifically relating to diagnosis, assessment, and/or treatment issues associated with the Integrated Primary Care and Mental Health programs. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not available. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not available. 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 #: Senior Social Worker (MHC - PCMHI), FS #55575F