Home / Career Explorer / Community and Social Service

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

	Median Wage (USD, 2024)	Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)	Projected Growth (2024-2034)
National Statistics	$58570	35100	3.4%
State Statistics	-	-	-
City Statistics	-	-	-

Statistics

National

State

City

State

City

$58570

Median Wage (USD, 2024)

35100

Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)

3.4%

Projected Growth (2024-2034)

Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Work Experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Up to and including 1 month

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Detailed Work Activities

Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
Advise clients or community groups on health issues.
Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
Counsel clients regarding interpersonal issues.
Write reports or evaluations.
Maintain client records.
Arrange physical or mental health services for clients.
Counsel clients regarding educational or vocational issues.
Evaluate potential problems in home or work environments of clients.
Confer with family members to discuss client treatment plans or progress.
Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or educational programs.
Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
Collect information about clients.
Recommend legal actions.
Help clients get needed services or resources.
Refer individuals to educational or work programs.
Refer clients to community or social service programs.
Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
Advocate for individual or community needs.
Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.
Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
Advise others on healthcare matters.
Counsel family members of clients or patients.
Conduct research on social issues.
Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
Collaborate with other professionals to develop education or assistance programs.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty.
Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.
Refer clients to community resources for services, such as job placement, debt counseling, legal aid, housing, medical treatment, or financial assistance, and provide concrete information, such as where to go and how to apply.
Counsel individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding issues including mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, physical abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, child care, or medical care.
Provide, find, or arrange for support services, such as child care, homemaker service, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counseling, or parenting classes to prevent more serious problems from developing.
Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.
Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.
Recommend temporary foster care and advise foster or adoptive parents.
Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.
Evaluate personal characteristics and home conditions of foster home or adoption applicants.
Conduct social research.
Supervise other social workers.
Lead group counseling sessions that provide support in such areas as grief, stress, or chemical dependency.
Serve on policy-making committees, assist in community development, and assist client groups by lobbying for solutions to problems.
Determine clients' eligibility for financial assistance.

Work Styles

Innovation

A tendency to be inventive, to be imaginative, and to adopt new perspectives on ways to accomplish work.

Innovation

Achievement Orientation

Intellectual Curiosity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Initiative

Adaptability

Self-Confidence

Perseverance

Leadership Orientation

Humility

Sincerity

Empathy

Cooperation

Optimism

Social Orientation

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Integrity

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 30.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Session has been expired