Entry Level Case Manager Jobs in Raytown, MO (NOW HIRING)

Summary
The Inpatient Mental Health Program is seeking a highly motivated Social Worker to serve as an Inpatient Mental Health Social Work Case Manager. This position provides comprehensive psychosocial assessment, treatment, care management, and discharge planning for Veterans receiving inpatient psychiatric services. Depending on grade level (GS-9 or GS-11), the incumbent functions as an entry-level or full-performance social worker within a multidisciplinary treatment team.
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Duties
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VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
The Social Work Case Manager plays a key role in supporting Veterans with complex mental, emotional, behavioral, physical, and psychosocial needs. The role includes addressing homelessness, coordinating transitions of care, supporting recovery and stabilization, providing counseling, and facilitating access to VA and community resources. The incumbent serves as an advocate for Veterans and their families, ensuring continuity of care and supporting safe and effective discharge planning.
Duties include but are not limited to:
Clinical Duties (GS-9 & GS-11)

• Conduct psychosocial assessments to identify Veterans' strengths, needs, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity.
• Provide individual and group counseling to support stabilization, recovery, and safe discharge from inpatient psychiatric care. (GS-9 under supervision; GS-11 independently)
• Participate in interdisciplinary treatment planning, care team meetings, and discharge planning to ensure high-quality mental health care.
• Assist Veterans and families in coping with acute illness, chronic illness, combat stress, grief, and other psychosocial stressors.
• Identify the need for mental health services and make appropriate referrals for individual, group, marital, and family treatment. (GS-9 under supervision; GS-11 independently)
• Coordinate care across levels and sites of care, including community placements and home care needs.
• Provide crisis intervention services, including rapid assessment and treatment planning during medical or psychiatric emergencies. (GS-9 assists under supervision; GS-11 performs independently)
• Document clinical interventions in CPRS and ensure appropriate handoff communication.
• Assist in safety planning, including involuntary hold or guardianship procedures following legal and regulatory guidelines. (GS-9 under supervision; GS-11 independently)
• Provide education and support regarding advance directives, guardianships, and applications for healthcare and extended care services.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of VA and community resources to support Veterans' needs and advocate for access to services.
• Support culturally sensitive and age-appropriate interventions tailored to diverse Veteran populations.

Administrative Duties (GS-9 & GS-11)

• Support the mission, policies, and procedures of VA, VHA, VISN, and the facility.
• Participate in interdisciplinary team meetings, Social Work meetings, and facility committees as assigned. (GS-11 may serve at VISN or national level)
• Keep supervisor informed of problems and recommend solutions within the scope of responsibilities.
• Maintain required training, adhere to NASW Code of Ethics, and engage in professional development. (GS-9 actively pursues licensure; GS-11 maintains independent practice requirements)
• Ensure compliance with EEO, safety, security, and privacy policies, including the protection of sensitive Veteran data.
• Maintain productivity and quality standards consistent with Social Work Service expectations. (GS-9 commensurate with entry-level supervision; GS-11 full-performance)

Additional Responsibilities

• Provide weekend or holiday coverage as assigned to ensure continuity of services.
• Participate in orientation and training for students, trainees, and new staff. (GS-11 may assist with staff orientation and mentoring)
• Engage in research or program evaluation activities as appropriate.
• Travel when necessary to deliver social work services to Veterans and families.

Work Schedule: 8:00 AM to 4:30 pm including weekend
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorize
Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
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).
• 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.
  • Failure to Obtain License or Certification: In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
  • Loss of Licensure or Certification: 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 termination of employment.

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 for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
Social Worker, GS-9:
(1) Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
(2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
• Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

Social Worker, GS-11:
(1) Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.
OR,
(2) Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
(3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
• Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds.
• Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
• Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, 8 medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
• Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment

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).
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-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
Education
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Additional information
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