Child, Family, and School Social Workers

Human ServicesO*NET 21-1021.00United States

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.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $59,517
Projected change: +7.2%
Typical education: Bachelor's degree
Employment: 400.12K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What child, family, and school social workers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

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.
Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.
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.
Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.
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.
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.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $42,253
25th percentile: $48,243
50th percentile: $59,517
75th percentile: $76,057
90th percentile: $95,572

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $59,517 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+7.2%faster than average

2025400,115 jobs

2035 projected428,981 jobs

28,866 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Bachelor's degree: 68.7%
Master's or Professional degree: 25.8%
Associate degree: 5.5%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Social Work
Case Management
Mental Health
Psychology
Crisis Intervention
Human Services
Treatment Planning
Discharge Planning
Behavioral Health
Medical Records
Trauma Care
Disabilities
Care Coordination
Support Services
Child Welfare
Psychosocial Assessments
Bilingual (Spanish/English)
Sociology
Child Development
Working With Children

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation: Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Social Workers17,055 postings
02Case Managers10,057 postings
03School Social Workers4,730 postings
04Medical Social Workers3,081 postings
05Hospice Medical Social Workers1,611 postings
06Caseworkers1,573 postings
07Hospice Social Workers1,556 postings
08Licensed Medical Social Workers1,519 postings
09Licensed Social Workers1,432 postings
10Family Advocates1,424 postings
11Clinician Licensed Clinical Social Workers1,201 postings
12Foster Care Case Managers900 postings
13Licensed Master Social Workers840 postings
14Housing Case Managers819 postings
15Bilingual Case Managers780 postings
16Social Work Case Managers743 postings
17Family Case Managers675 postings
18Social Workers/Case Managers665 postings
19County Caseworkers643 postings
20Personal Injury Case Managers586 postings

Top employers

01Soliant Health2,253 postings
02YMCA1,198 postings
03United States Department of Veterans Affairs923 postings
04American Public Human Services Association819 postings
05Catholic Charities USA757 postings
06Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania751 postings
07Amergis704 postings
08The Salvation Army663 postings
09EMIT Learning633 postings
10State of South Carolina618 postings
11CVS Health558 postings
12DaVita540 postings
13Right At School491 postings
14ProCare Therapy484 postings
15Sunbelt Staffing469 postings
16Edjoin.Org449 postings
17Fresenius431 postings
18GEO Group424 postings
19AMN Healthcare413 postings
20HCA Healthcare384 postings

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