Job Skills
To be a family social worker, you’ll need to be trustworthy, stable, and mature to deal calmly and responsibly with people and families in crisis. You should be able to work independently or as a team member, and to get along with a variety of people.

Income
In 2008, the median annual salary for child, family, and school workers was $39,530. The median earnings of the lowest 10 percent of workers were $25,870, and the top 10 percent’s median earnings were $66,430. The highest numbers of child, school, and family social workers were employed by elementary and secondary schools (mean annual salary $56,570) and local government agencies (mean annual salary $48,440).

Training and Education
There are three levels of social work training and education: the bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW), the master’s degree (MSW), and the doctorate (DSW or PhD).
• BSW. To be a family social worker, you’ll need at least a BSW, which requires at least 400 hours of supervised fieldwork in addition to 4 years of classroom courses.
• MSW. You’ll need an MSW to work in health settings or to do clinical or private work. An MSW takes about 2 years of classes beyond your BSW and requires at least 900 hours of supervised internship.
• DSW or PhD. To teach social work in a college or university, you’ll need a DSW or PhD in social work. A DSW of PhD also allows you conduct research into problems or questions relating to family social work.
All states have license, certificate, or registration requirements, although requirements vary from state to state. As of 2006, there were 458 BSW and 181 MSW programs in the U.S. accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. There were also 74 doctoral programs accredited by the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education.

Employment
Child, school, and family social workers held about 282,000 jobs in 2006.

Job Outlook
Between 2006 and 2016, the number of jobs for child, school, and family social workers is predicted to increase by 19 percent, which is higher than the average growth for all jobs. Your opportunities will be greatest in rural areas, where it’s often difficult to attract and retain qualified social workers. Social workers who specialize in helping those with disabilities or want to work in public schools may have the best employment opportunities.
With the right education and certification, you can become a supervisor, manage a program, or direct a family social work agency or department.

It’s a difficult challenge, and one few of us might face in a lifetime. Yet the referral and assessment team in Coventry gets around 40 calls every day about children reported to be at risk. Each one needs to be explored and evaluated, and a decision taken about whether to intervene. Strangely, many of the calls prove to be malicious hoaxes.

But to find out, the social workers must go to a house of strangers likely to be most unhappy about being visited with a view to losing their children. That house, as we saw, may be beyond most people’s imaginations – such as one where an anonymous fax reported faeces smeared on the window. The social workers found the children were playing with it in their catastrophic bedroom. Yet the hapless mother agreed she could not cope, and the social workers eventually persuaded the grandmother to house the children temporarily. Removal into care was not needed – yet.

We went behind the screaming headlines to see how social workers cope with the pressures – the huge caseloads, the paperwork that keeps them office-bound, the lack of staff to whom to pass on emergency cases. It means, as both social workers and clients told us, that only visiting some families once a month means the truth is easy to conceal. All this risk management is in the shadow of hostile media that spread paranoia through the ranks.

And yet many of them are proud of what they do. When they recognised that we play straight with difficult subjects, several councils agreed to let us film. We chose Coventry because of its commitment to openness, tested in many challenging meetings. We came to admire how well it manages, despite the shortcomings. As one of the social workers said, “I don’t know how long people can go on working like this. There’s no lull. It’s just 100mph all the time.” She loves her job, as others we met obviously do, but as she said: “You just would not do this job if you thought about what could actually happen.”

She means another Baby Peter case. Even the supervisors are aware it could happen to any of them. A child dies at the hands of an adult – not a social worker – in their home every six days. That is the national scandal. And we ask these underpaid, unsung people to deal with it as best they can. It’s an emotional and professional marathon. They deserve much more than simple opprobrium when things go wrong.

They assist patients, families and caregivers with short term and long term planning. They can also provide counseling services to assist with such issues as loss and grief or coping with lifestyle changes and other issues involving health status.

The MSW (Master’s in Social Work) assesses for the social, physical, financial and psychological needs of the patients and assist them in attaining these. For instance, they can assist the elderly to find care in their own homes or an appropriate level of care in assisted living or total care environments. They can assist parents with their needs and issues in caring for infants and children with birth defects and chronic illnesses.

MSWs also help patients and families to cope with the challenges of hospice care and the bereavement issues after the death.

Education and Training
For social workers, the minimum level of education is a bachelor of science in social work (BSW). However, for reimbursement purposes, a master’s degree is usually required (MSW). For those who wish to teach social work, a PhD in social work is most often required.

Course work beyond general education requirements includes classes in behavioral sciences, human growth and development, social sciences, basic psychology, social environment studies, social welfare policies and methods of social work.

License/Certification
All states in the U.S require that social workers be either licensed, certified or registered. Certification is offered to MSWs with two years of experience who are members of the National Association of Social workers and pass a written examination. Most states require 3,000 hours/2 years of supervision to become a licensed social worker (LCSW).

There are a variety of other credentials which can be earned through specific areas of study for social workers to advance in their particular career path.

Work Environment and Salary
Many social workers are employed by hospitals, skilled nursing facilities or the public health department. They also work for home health agencies and hospices, crisis centers, mental health facilities, schools, and substance abuse facilities. Some work in private practice.

Median salaries vary depending upon the nature of the work, but ranged between $35,000 to $43,000 in May, 2006 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall salaries ranged from $24,480 to slightly over $68,000 per year according to these statistics.

Job Outlook
The job outlook for social workers is expected to grow faster than most other occupations well into the next decade. The health workforce is growing due to the demands of an aging and growing population which will continue to require sophisticated care. Social workers provide a necessary dimension to this field.

March is designated as National Professional Social Work month to honor social workers and the contributions they make in improving the quality of life for patients and their families.