Social Workers
Nature of the Work
Social workers are community troubleshooters. Through direct counseling, referral
to other services, or policy making and advocacy, they help individuals, families, and groups
cope with their problems. Those in the area of planning and policy help people understand
how social systems operate and propose ways of bringing about needed change in
institutions such as health services, housing, or education. Among the major helping
professions, social work is distinguished by a tradition of concern for the poor and the
disadvantaged.
The nature of the problem and the time and resources available determine which of
several social work methods will be used. When necessary, the social worker refers clients
to other professional or community resources. Using their training in human behavior,
personality theory, and social group relations, for example, social workers might identify the
need for assistance of children, teenagers, young adults, or older persons in places such
as community centers, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional institutions.
Social workers work in conjunction with or coordinate the efforts of civic, religious, business,
and union organizations to combat social problems through community programs. For a
neighborhood or larger area, they may help plan and develop health, housing, welfare, and
recreation services. Social workers often coordinate existing services, organize fund-
raising for community social welfare activities, and aid in developing new community
services.
Social workers who specialize in family services counsel individuals, work to
strengthen personal and family relationships, and help clients cope with problems. They
provide information and referral services in many areas--family budgeting and money
management, locating housing, homemaker assistance for the elderly, job training, and day
care for children of working parents.
Improving the well-being of children and youth is the job of social workers who
specialize in child welfare. They may advise parents on the care of severely handicapped
infants, counsel children and youth with social adjustment difficulties, and arrange
homemaker services during a parent's illness. Social workers may institute legal action to
protect neglected or abused children, help unmarried parents, and counsel couples about
adoption. After proper evaluation and home visits, they may place children for adoption or
in foster homes or institutions. If children have serious problems in school, child welfare
workers may consult with parents, teachers, counselors, and others to identify the
underlying problems.
Medical social workers are trained to help patients and their families with problems
that may accompany illness or inhibit recovery and rehabilitation. They work in hospitals,
hospices, health maintenance organizations, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and
offices of physicians.
Hospital social workers may work with patients or with families of patients suffering
from emotionally devastating illnesses. Discharge planning is an increasingly important
area of practice for hospital social workers because prospective payment, Medicare's new
system of paying for hospital care, has made timely discharge a factor in the hospital's
financial well-being. Other roles are evolving, too. In some hospitals, social workers
undertake primary care functions in departments of pediatrics or obstetrics. They may help
organize health screening and health education programs, collaborate with community
agencies to coordinate care, or coordinate employee assistance programs.
The mental health field attracts the most social workers. Much effort has gone into
developing community residential facilities and an array of supportive services for the
mentally disabled--services such as outreach, crisis intervention, social rehabilitation, and
training in skill of everyday living, to name a few. Social workers provide these services in
community mental health centers, outpatient psychiatric clinics, and "drop-in" centers.
Providing individual and group therapy is one of the principal tasks of social workers in
State mental hospitals, Veterans Administration hospitals, private psychiatric hospitals, and
psychiatric units of general hospitals.
Many of the small but growing number of social workers in private practice are
clinical social workers. Like other mental health professionals, they offer psychotherapy or
counseling to individuals, families, or groups. They might counsel families of troubled
adolescents, help couples deal with marital difficulties, or organize group sessions for
families of cancer victims, for example.
Social workers who specialize in the field of aging are also increasing in number.
They plan and evaluate services for the elderly, and help older persons and their families
deal with difficulties brought about by diminished capacities and changed circumstances.
In nursing homes, for example, they help patients and their families adjust to the need for
long-term institutional care.
Other social workers specialize in corrections. Correctional treatment specialists
provide direct services for inmates of penal or correctional institutions, while probation and
parole officers help offenders who are eligible for parole readjust to society. They counsel
on the social problems that arise on returning to family and community life, and also may
help secure necessary education, training, employment, or community services.
Working Conditions
Most social workers have a 5-day, 35-to 40-hour week. However, many, particularly
in private agencies, work part time. Many work evenings and weekends to meet with
clients, attend community meetings, and handle emergency situations. Extra leave is
generally granted for overtime. Because social workers often must visit clients or attend
meetings, some travel may be necessary.
Employment
Social workers held 387,000 jobs in 1990. About 2 out of 5 jobs were in State,
county, or municipal government agencies; relatively few were in the Federal Government.
Social workers in the public sector are employed primarily in departments of human
resources, social services, mental health, health, housing, education, and corrections.
Those in the private sector work for voluntary nonprofit agencies; community and religious
organizations; hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies; and other human
service agencies.
Job settings vary considerably. Some social workers are employed in business and
industry, as "industrial" or "occupational" social workers. They generally are located in the
personnel department or health unit, and support employee welfare through counseling,
educational programs, and referral to community agencies. Industrial social workers might,
for example, counsel employees about emotional problems, alcoholism, or drug abuse.
Although employment is concentrated in urban areas, many social workers work with
rural families. A small number of social workers--employed by the Federal Government and
the United Nations or one of its affiliated agencies--serve in other parts of the world.
Training, Other Qualification, and Advancement
A bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement for most professional positions in
this field. Besides the bachelor's in social work (BSW), under-graduate majors in
psychology, sociology, and related fields satisfy hiring requirements in many social service
agencies. A master's degree in social work (MSW) is generally required for positions in the
mental health field and is almost always necessary for supervisory, administrative, or
research positions. A doctorate in social work usually is required for teaching and is
desirable for some research and administrative jobs.
In 1990, there were 354 accredited BSW programs and 89 MSW programs. BSW
programs prepare graduates for direct service positions such as caseworker or group
worker. Classroom instruction is offered in social work practice, social welfare policies,
human behavior and the social environment, and social research methods. All accredited
programs require 400 hours of supervised field experience.
An MSW degree is preferred for clinical positions and is a decided asset for
advancement to a supervisory position. It is essential for social workers in private practice.
Two years of specialized study, including 900 hours of supervised field instruction, or
internship, are required to earn a master's degree in social work. Field placement affords
an opportunity to test one's suitability for social work practice. At the same time, the student
may develop expertise in a specialized area and make personal contacts that later are
helpful in securing a permanent job. Previous training in social work is not required for entry
into a graduate program, but courses such as psychology, sociology, economics, political
science, history, social anthropology, and urban studies, as well as social work, are
recommended. Some graduate schools offer accelerated MSW programs for qualified
applicants.
A limited number of scholarships and fellowships are available for graduate
education. A few social welfare agencies grant workers educational leave to obtain
graduate education.
Career advancement usually takes the form of promotion to supervisor,
administrator, or director, although some social workers go into teaching, research, or
consulting. Like other administrators, directors of social service agencies hire, train, and
supervise staff, develop and evaluate agency programs, make budget decisions, solicit
funds, and represent the agency in public.
Private practice offers variety, prestige, and the potential for much higher pay than
most agency jobs. Social workers who wish to advance professionally without taking the
supervisory or administrative route often consider private practice. Ordinarily, this means
clinical practice--counseling individuals or groups--although some private practitioners
specialize in organizational consulting. Not only an MSW but sufficiently varied work
experience to develop a network of contacts for referral purposes is usually a prerequisite
for a career as a private practitioner. Entrepreneurial ability is important for success in this
rapidly developing but highly competitive field.
In addition to experience, which is essential, advancement in the social service field
often requires an advanced degree. More than 40 schools of social work offer post-
master's programs, most of which lead to a doctoral degree. Increasingly, social workers
seeking to broaden their career options are pursuing graduate studies in related fields
including human services administration, business administration, health services
administration, education, and law. A number of graduate programs have developed joint
degree programs in social work and another discipline.
In 1990, 33 States had licensing or registration laws regarding social work practice
and the use of professional titles. Voluntary certification is offered by the National
Association of Social Workers (NASW), which awards the title ACSW (Academy of Certified
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 Registry of Health
Care Providers in Clinical Social Work.
Social workers should be emotionally mature, objective, and sensitive, and should
possess a basic concern for people and their problems. They must be able to handle
responsibility, work independently, and maintain good working relationships with clients and
coworkers. Volunteer, part-time, or summer work as a social work aide offer ways of testing
one's interest in pursuing a career in this field.
Job Outlook
Employment of social workers is expected to increase faster than the average for all
occupations through the year 2000, reflecting public and private response to the needs of
a growing and aging population. Demand for social workers is governed by funding; trends
in public, private, and third-party spending for social work services are largely responsible
for patterns of job growth. The need to replace social workers who leave the occupation
or stop working is expected to be the principal source of jobs, however.
Prospects in public agencies are not as bright as they once were, due to the
employment impact of anticipated budget constraints plus the trend toward
"declassification" that is taking hold in more and more States. Declassification, or revision
of State civil service regulations, may dampen demand for MSW's in public agencies since
BSW's can legally perform the same job under revised regulations. Despite somewhat
slower growth through the mid-1990's, State and local governments will retain their
importance as a leading employer of social workers, and replacement needs alone will
generate many job openings in this sector.
In elementary and secondary schools, little job growth is foreseen. Substantial
expansion in the number of school social workers has already occurred in response to the
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975; only modest expansion is expected
through 1995. This reflects anticipated trends in elementary and secondary school
enrollments.
Prospects for hospital social workers are difficult to assess. A major employment
setting, hospitals provide 1 out of every 10 social work jobs. Financing and organizational
changes in this sector will affect the nature of the hospital social worker's job: Contacts with
community agencies and organizations will take on unprecedented importance because of
the pivotal role of discharge planning. Social workers in community-based programs for the
elderly reportedly are being recruited for hospital social work jobs because of their
extensive knowledge of community resources. Less certain are prospects for growth. It
seems unlikely that employment of hospital social workers will increase much if at all, in
view of the anticipated slowdown in hospital industry growth.
Home health is emerging as an increasingly important area of practice, not only
because hospitals are moving to release patients more quickly, but because of the
prevalence of functional disabilities among older persons requiring assistance in activities
of daily living. Social workers in the home health field are primarily engaged in evaluation,
assessment, and case management on the one hand, and administration and supervision,
on the other.
Demand for social workers is expected to grow in outpatient facilities, including
health maintenance organizations (HMO's) and rehabilitation facilities that offer alcohol and
drug abuse programs. Financing is not an obstacle, as a rule; HMO's provide
comprehensive care for a preestablished fee, and alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs
often are covered by employers or by health insurance, although some patients pay their
own costs. Services provided by social workers in HMO's include counseling on teenage
pregnancy, stress management, substance abuse, abortion, crisis intervention for cases
of spouse or child abuse, assistance for the elderly, and case management.
Substantial growth is projected for social work jobs in private agencies that provide
services for abused and neglected children, troubled youth, rape and spouse abuse victims,
older people and their families, refugees, farm workers, couples with marital difficulties, and
so forth.
Opportunities for social workers in private practice will continue to expand, in part
because of growing acceptance of private social work practice by the profession and by the
public at large, but also because of the anticipated availability of funding from health
insurance and from an increasingly affluent population willing to pay for professional help
with personal problems. Growing corporate support for employee assistance programs is
expected to spur demand for the services of private practitioners, some of whom contract
with corporations to run training sessions on group dynamics, or counsel employees on a
variety of problem.
Entry into private practice does not guarantee success. Private practitioners must
be able to market themselves to prospective purchasers of their services such as schools,
health care providers, corporations, or individuals. Moreover, they must be prepared to
deal with competition from psychologists, psychiatric nurses, counselors, and other mental
health providers.
Job prospects for social workers vary a great deal. Opportunities differ, depending
upon academic credentials, experience, and field of practice. Geographic location is a
consideration, too. Competition is keen in cities where training programs for social workers
abound. This competition is certain to intensify if social services are cut back in response
to budget pressures on State and local governments. At the same time, population growth
in the Sunbelt States is spurring expansion of social service programs there, and some
isolated rural areas are finding it difficult to attract and retain qualified staff.
Trends in enrollment in social work education will affect job prospects for social
workers through the mid-1990's. The number of social work degrees awarded each year
peaked in the late 1970's and has been declining ever since. A number of factors, of which
the impending decrease in the college-age population is the most important, point to a
continued decline.
If fewer people prepare for social work careers while demand continues to grow,
conditions in the job market are likely to improve. Job search problems of MSW's should
abate and prospects for BSW's probably will improve. Very strong competition will
continue, however, for the substantial number of associate and bachelor's degree holders
seeking entry level human service jobs that do not require formal preparation in social work.
Earnings
Salaries for social workers at all levels vary greatly by type of agency (private or
public; Federal, State, or local) and geographic region, but generally are highest in large
cities and in States with sizable urban populations. Private practitioners, administrators,
teachers, and researchers often earn considerably more than other types of social workers.
Median earnings for full-time social workers were $23,300 a year in 1990. The
middle 50 percent earned between $19,100 and $30,500 per year. The bottom 10 percent
earned less than $13,400 a year while the top 10 percent earned over $41,000 a year.
MSW's generally earn more. In 1990, the average salary for social workers with an
MSW was $29,400 a year, according to a membership survey conducted by the National
Association of Social Work.
The average annual starting salary for social workers in hospitals and medical
centers (positions requiring an MSW) was about $23,544 in 1990, according to a survey
conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch. The average salary for experienced
social workers in these settings was about $32,610 a year.
Related Occupations
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 vocation rehabilitation counselors.
Sources of Additional Information
For information about career opportunities in social work, contact:
National Association of Social Workers, 7981 Eastern Ave., Silver Spring, Md.
20910.
The Council on Social Work Education publishes an annual Directory of Accredited
BSW Programs and Directory of Accredited MSW Programs, which may be purchased for
$2 each, postpaid.
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