Social workers help people. They help individuals cope with problems such as inadequate housing, unemployment, lack of job skills, financial mismanagement, serious illness, disability, substance abuse, unwanted pregnancy, or antisocial behavior. They also work with families that have serious conflicts, including those involving child or spousal abuse.
Through direct counseling, social workers help clients identify their real concerns and help them to consider solutions and find resources. Often, social workers provide concrete information such as: Where to go for debt counseling; how to find child care or elder care; how to apply for public assistance or other benefits; or how to get an alcoholic or drug addict admitted to a rehabilitation program. Social workers may also arrange for services in consultation with clients and then follow through to assure the services are actually helpful. They may review eligibility requirements, fill out forms and applications, arrange for services, visit clients on a regular basis, and step in during emergencies.
Most social workers specialize in a clinical field such as child welfare and family services, mental health, medical social work, school social work. Clinical social workers offer psychotherapy or counseling and a range of services in public agencies, clinics, as well as in private practice. Other social workers are employed in community organization, administration, or research.
Social workers in child welfare or family services may counsel children and youths who have difficulty adjusting socially, advise parents on how to care for disabled children, or arrange for homemaker services during a parent's illness. If children have serious problems in school, child welfare workers may consult with parents, teachers, and counselors to identify underlying causes and develop plans for treatment. Some social workers assist single parents, arrange adoptions, and help find foster homes for neglected or abandoned children. Child welfare workers also work in residential institutions for children and adolescents.
Social workers in child or adult protective services investigate reports of abuse and neglect and intervene if necessary. They may institute legal action to remove children from homes and place them temporarily in an emergency shelter or with a foster family.
Mental health social workers provide services for persons with mental or emotional problems, such as individual and group therapy, outreach, crisis intervention, social rehabilitation, and training in skills of everyday living. They may also help plan for supportive services to ease patients' Return to the community. (Also see the statements on counselors and psychologists elsewhere in the Handbook.)
Medical social workers help patients and their families cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses and handle problems that may stand in the way of recovery or rehabilitation. They may organize support groups for families of patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, or other illnesses. They also advise family caregivers, and counsel patients and help plan for their needs after discharge by arranging for at-home services from meals-on-wheels to oxygen equipment. Some work on interdisciplinary teams that evaluate certain kinds of patients geriatric or transplant patients, for example.
School social workers diagnose students' problems and arrange needed services, counsel children in trouble, and help integrate disabled students into the general school population. School social workers deal with problems such as student pregnancy, misbehavior in class, and excessive absences. They also advise teachers on how to deal with problem students.
Social workers in criminal justice make recommendations to courts, do pre-sentencing assessments, and provide services for prison inmates and their families. Probation and parole officers provide similar services to individuals on parole or sentenced by a court to probation.
Industrial or occupational social workers generally work in an employer's personnel department or health unit. Through employee assistance programs, they help workers cope with job-related pressures or personal problems that affect the quality of their work. They offer direct counseling to employees, often those whose performance is hindered by emotional or family problems or substance abuse. They also develop education programs and refer workers to specialized community programs.
Some social workers specialize in gerontological services. They run support groups for family caregivers or for the adult children of aging parents; advise elderly people or family members about the choices in such areas as housing, transportation, and long-term care; and coordinate and monitor services.
Social workers should be emotionally mature, objective, and sensitive to people and their problems.
Most social workers have a standard 40-hour week. However, they may work some evenings and weekends to meet with clients, attend community meetings, and handle emergencies. Some, particularly in voluntary nonprofit agencies, work part time. They may spend most of their time in an office or residential facility, but may also travel locally to visit clients or meet with service providers.
The work, while satisfying, can be emotionally draining. Understaffing and large caseloads add to the pressure in some agencies.
Social workers held about 484,000 jobs in 1992. Nearly 40 percent of the jobs were in State, county, or municipal government agencies, primarily in departments of human resources, social services, child welfare, mental health, health, housing, education, and corrections. Most in the private sector were in voluntary social service agencies, community and religious organizations, hospitals, nursing homes, or home health agencies.
Although most social workers are employed in cities or suburbs, some work in rural areas.
A bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement for most positions. Besides the bachelor's in social work (BSW), undergraduate majors in psychology, sociology, and related fields satisfy hiring requirements in some agencies, especially small community agencies. A master's degree in social work (MSW) is generally necessary for positions in health and mental health settings. Jobs in public agencies may also require an MSW. Supervisory, administrative, and staff training positions usually require at least an MSW. College and University teaching positions and most research appointments normally require a doctorate in social work.
In 1991, the Council on Social Work Education accredited 297 BSW programs and 103 MSW programs. There were 49 doctoral programs for Ph.D. in Social Work and for DSW (Doctor of Social Work). BSW programs prepare graduates for direct service positions such as caseworker or group worker. They include courses in social work practice, social welfare policies, human behavior and the social environment, and social research methods. Accredited BSW programs require at least 400 hours of supervised field experience.
An MSW degree prepares graduates to perform assessments, to manage cases, and to supervise other workers. Master's programs usually last 2 years and include 900 hours of supervised field instruction, or internship. Entry into an MSW program does not require a bachelor's in social work, but courses in psychology, biology, sociology, economics, political science, history, social anthropology, urban studies, and social work are recommended. Some schools offer an accelerated MSW program for those with a BSW.
Social workers may advance to supervisor, program manager, assistant director, and finally to executive director of an agency or department. Advancement generally requires an MSW, as well as experience. Other career options for social workers are teaching, research, and consulting. Some help formulate government policies by analyzing and advocating policy positions in government agencies, in research institutions, and on legislators' staffs.
Some social workers go into private practice. Most private practitioners are clinical social workers who provide psychotherapeutic counseling, usually paid through health insurance. Private practitioners must have completed an MSW and a period of supervised work experience. A network of contacts for referrals is also essential.
In 1993, all States and the District of Columbia had licensing, certification, or registration laws regarding social work practice and the use of professional titles. In addition, voluntary certification is offered by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), which grants the titled ACSW (Academy of Certified Social Workers) or ACBSW (Academy of Certified Baccalaureate Social Workers) to those who qualify. For clinical social workers, professional credentials include listing in the NASW Register of Clinical Social Workers or in the Directory of American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work. These credentials are particularly important for those in private practice; some health insurance providers require them for reimbursement.
Social workers should be emotionally mature, objective, and sensitive to people and their problems. They must be able to handle responsibility, work independently, and maintain good working relationships with clients and coworkers. Volunteer or paid jobs as a social work aide offer ways of testing one's interest in this field.
Employment of social workers is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005. The number of older people, who are more likely to need social services, is growing rapidly. In addition, requirements for social workers will grow with increases in the need for and concern about services to the mentally ill, the mentally retarded, and individuals and families in crisis. Many job openings will also arise due to the need to replace social workers who leave the occupation.
Employment of social workers in hospitals is projected to grow much faster than the average for the economy as a whole due to greater emphasis on discharge planning, which facilitates early discharge of patients by assuring that the necessary medical services and social supports are in place when individuals leave the hospital.
Employment of social workers in private social service agencies is projected to grow about as fast as the average. Although demand for their services is expected to increase rapidly, agencies will increasingly restructure services and hire more lower paid human services workers instead of social workers. Employment in government should also grow about as fast as the average in response to increasing needs for public welfare and family services.
Social worker employment in home health care services is growing, not only because hospitals are moving to release patients more quickly, but because a large and growing number of people have impairments or disabilities that make it difficult to live at home without some form of assistance.
Opportunities for social workers in private practice will expand because of the anticipated availability of funding from health insurance and from public sector contracts. Also, with increasing affluence, people will be more willing to pay for professional help to deal with personal problems. The growing popularity of employee assistance programs is also expected to spur demand for private practitioners, some of whom provide social work services to corporations on a contract basis.
Employment of school social workers is expected to grow, due to expanded efforts to respond to the adjustment problems of immigrants, children from single-parent families, and others in difficult situations. Moreover, continued emphasis on integrating disabled children into the general school population a requirement under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act will probably lead to more jobs. The availability of State and local funding will dictate the actual increase in jobs in this setting, however.
Competition for social worker jobs is stronger in cities where training programs for social workers abound; rural areas often find it difficult to attract and retain qualified staff.
The median earnings of social workers with MSW degrees were $30,000 in 1992, according to a membership survey of the National Association of Social Workers. For those with BSW degrees, median earnings were $20,000 according to the same survey.
In hospitals, social workers who worked full-time averaged about $30,850 in 1993, according to a survey performed by the University of Texas Medical Branch. Salaries ranged from a minimum of about $25,600 to a maximum of nearly $38,700.
Social workers employed by the Federal Government averaged $41,400 in 1993.
Through direct counseling or referral to other services, social workers help people solve a range of personal problems. Workers in occupations with similar duties include the clergy, counselors, counseling psychologists, and vocational rehabilitation counselors.
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Reprinted with Permission of U. S. Department of Labor