Social Work Careers: Children and Families

School social work is a very popular field. Social workers in schools help to identify and address the social and emotional difficulties that students face that can interfere with their success in school. Besides helping all students with academic issues, school social workers may also help specific students who have social, psychological, emotional or physical difficulties that can impact their performance in school. These may include housing, poverty, sexuality and physical/mental disabilities. School social workers also help parents learn more about the programs and services of the school and community. 

Usually Master of Social Work degrees are required for positions in school settings.  

What are some practicum site examples for school social work?

• KCK School District-Special Education Cooperative
• Independence School District
• Lawrence School District
• Topeka School District

Child welfare represents the single largest field in social work careers.

Child welfare social workers support children in their community by providing services that keep them with their families or moving them to a permanent home. They offer services for children living in poor living conditions, children with special needs, such as autism, Down syndrome, physical disability, or children suffering from behavioral issues. A child welfare social worker provides various services for families in need, some of these services may include individual, family, marital or group counseling, family life education, case management, and program and organization management.

A Bachelor of Social Work degree prepares students for direct-service positions such as caseworker or mental health assistant.

What are some practicum site examples for child welfare social work?

• KVC Behavioral Healthcare Network
• Missouri Division of Family Service
• Kansas Department for Children and Families
• TFI Family Services
• The Child Protection Center

Mental health social work is growing across the country.

Mental health social workers may work in inpatient or outpatient settings. They help people with mental illnesses deal with problems or issues that they face in their daily lives providing counseling, therapy and support.

What do mental health social workers do in inpatient settings?

In inpatient settings, mental health social workers counsel patients who live in a supervised facility. When a person suffering from a mental illness is getting ready to be discharged, the social worker will help them succeed in the community by doing things like finding a home, a job, the appropriate education to secure a job, and/or community support groups.

What do mental health social workers do in outpatient settings?

In outpatient settings, mental health social workers work with people with mental illness who are living in their own home. The social worker will help these people with issues they face daily, such as work-related issues, personal issues that may be affecting their work responsibilities, relationships, or school work. Mental health social workers in outpatient settings may also provide therapy.

What are some practicum site examples for mental health social work?

• Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center
• Rainbow Mental Health Facility
• The Family Conservancy
• Valeo Behavioral Health Care
• Counseling and Psychological Services

Social workers can be found in numerous health care settings. These settings include hospitals, home health agencies, hospice programs, school-based clinics, physician offices, rehabilitation hospitals, addiction recovery programs and nursing home facilities. 

In these settings, you have the opportunity to work with individuals, families and groups. Services include providing discharge planning, patient education and counseling, advising for family care givers, making referrals for other services, finding financial support for payment of services, providing support for those coping with illnesses, crisis intervention, and policy development. 

Usually, Master of Social Work degrees are required for positions in health care settings.  

What are some practicum site examples for health care social work?

• Children’s Mercy Hospital
• Crossroads Hospice
• Kansas City Free Health Clinic

There are numerous job opportunities in this area of social work. Family or juvenile courts, public defenders offices, corrections facilities, victim services, and crisis shelters hire social workers to work in a range of positions. These position could include advocates for victims, counseling with families, supervisors of family visits, children’s program coordinators, program and executive directors for shelters, and deputy juvenile officers. Social work skills support critical individual and family needs in this arena.   

What are some practicum site examples for justice and victim services social work?

• Jackson County Family Court
• Lenexa Municipal Court
• The Willow Domestic Violence Shelter

Rehabilitation social workers help people with emotional and physical disabilities live independently. They work with clients to overcome or manage the personal, social, and professional effects of disabilities on employment or independent living. Rehabilitation counselors help people with physical, mental, emotional, or social disabilities at various stages in their lives. Some work with students to develop strategies to live with their disability and move from school to work. Others help veterans cope with the mental or physical effects of their military service. Still others help elderly people adapt to disabilities developed later in life from illness or injury. Some rehabilitation counselors deal specifically with employment issues. These counselors, sometimes called vocational rehabilitation counselors, typically work with older students and adults rather than young children. 

What are some practicum site examples for disability services social work?

• Community Works
• Kansas City Regional Center
• Trinity Respite Care

Individuals and families who have unstable housing live in a variety of settings, both urban and rural, range in age, face health issues, and find themselves homeless for a variety of reasons that require a wide range of social work services. Many of them may be runaway youth, people with severe mental health needs, veterans, individuals with addiction, and women and children.

Case managers, crisis and intervention workers, and group and individual counselors often are employed by government, and non-profit agencies that provide these services. Social workers have an opportunity to advocate for social change on behalf of the homeless in many agencies.  

What are some practicum site examples for homeless services social work?

• Lawrence Community Shelter
• Salvation Army
• Community LINC
• KCK School District-Homeless Children & Youth