School Social Worker

What would cause you to talk to the school social worker instead of the school counselor?

The Department of Labor Statistics has excellent information about this.

It looks like the educational requirements are the same. I think the main difference is the employer. For a school counelor you might work directly for the school district, where a social worker is employed by specific agencies that deal with school aged children like Child Protection Services, or non profit organizations.

Counselors
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos067.htm
"High school counselors advise students regarding college majors, admission requirements, entrance exams, financial aid, trade or technical schools, and apprenticeship programs. They help students develop job search skills, such as resume writing and interviewing techniques. College career planning and placement counselors assist alumni or students with career development and job-hunting techniques.

School counselors at all levels help students to understand and deal with social, behavioral, and personal problems. These counselors emphasize preventive and developmental counseling to enhance students' personal, social, and academic growth and to provide students with the life skills needed to deal with problems before they worsen. Counselors provide special services, including alcohol and drug prevention programs and conflict resolution classes. They also try to identify cases of domestic abuse and other family problems that can affect a student's development.

Counselors interact with students individually, in small groups, or as an entire class. They consult and collaborate with parents, teachers, school administrators, school psychologists, medical professionals, and social workers to develop and implement strategies to help students succeed."


Social Workers
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm

2010-05-14 15:59:35 by blc

This video features Tauchiana Vanderbilt, MSW '05, the social worker for two years at Durham Nativity School, and UNC School of Social Work ...

Right now i am a freshman in college (in my second semester.) I'm majoring in Elementary Education.

What do i need to major in to become a school social worker?
Do i still stay in the Education field?

I've tried to ask for some help but i think i might be asking in the wrong place here at my school.

Thank you so much in advance.

It's true that it varies by state. Many schools of social work offer a certificate or specialization in school social work, which includes a 400 hour school social work placement. BUT- you should check with the requirements of your state- some states (like Oregon, where I am) do not require certifications, and actually do not favor school social workers- they prefer school counselors, and school counselors do come from education. (They like them better because they can pull them from their counselor roles and put them in the classroom in times of need.) However, right over the border from me in WA, they do use and prefer school social workers, and do require a school social work certificate.

Usually these are MSW-level workers, but some certificate programs and placements exist at the BSW level, esp in more rural areas.

Check out this good school social work link: http://www.sswaa.org/

2009-02-16 14:25:15 by irene.smith99

My wife and I live in Illinois (Chicago Area) and are relocating after she graduates college. She has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and in June will have her Masters degree in Social Work. (MSW I believe)
She wants to be a high school social worker and is currently in an internship at a local high school for this. My question is how hard would it be to find work in California and what would she have to do?

It might be difficult - California is big on social work so there's lots of MSW's around. She will need to check with the school districts for where you will be moving and see if they have any openings. She might want to consider working with CPS. In California it pays pretty well (starting about $48,000 a year). This will give her experience with California laws and she will make a ton of contacts. I've been a CPS (we call it Child Welfare Services) worker for about 7 years and I've had about 5 co-workers leave to be a school social worker.

Other than that, I don't really have any advice. She's welcome to e-mail me through here if she would like info on CPS or how to apply. Good luck!

2008-10-03 13:42:55 by CaliBound

And any other criteria that is necessary to become a school social worker in the State of Delaware.

Thank you.

Here is the State of Delaware cite for the licensing of clinical social workers. Read the FAQ and scoot around the site. This may or may not include school social workers and there may be county school board requirements as well.

Anyway, a good starting point

http://dpr.delaware.gov/boards/socialwor kers/newlicense.shtml

2009-08-29 14:29:51 by Jessica W

I think I finally decided on this as my future career. But what's the difference between those two types of social workers. Because from my understanding the school social worker gives kids advice. the child social worker gets kids out of dangerous situations. I WOULD LOVE to be a part of both. I have a love for giving older grade school kids, middle school kids and highschool kids advice and helping them make choices, but I'd also love to help get them out of dangerous situations.

Your question is kind of hard to answer, because the question itself is not correct. There really is no such thing as a 'school social worker' and a 'child social worker'. A social worker is a social worker.

You can start by earning a Bachelor's degree in Social Work (BSW). But in order to become an actual social worker, you must have a Master's degree (MSW) and then must have a certain number of hours and years of working in the field before you can take the state exam to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). I think every state is different. Here in California, for example, social workers have to have 3,200 hours of working under a licensed social worker before they can sit for the state exam.

Once you are licensed, social workers have many, many options as to where they can work. When you hear about Child Protective Services (CPS), those are all LCSW's. They are the ones who go into homes when there has been a report of alleged child abuse and do an investigation. They are also the ones who remove kids from homes when it is obvious it is a very dangerous situation. A lot of social workers choose to go this path. Social workers often times work in hospitals, and are many times referred to as 'case managers' and act as a resource and advocate for very sick patients. Those are all LCSW's.

Social workers can also perform therapy. At least here in California, this has been a source of contention and debate between LCSW's and MFT's (marriage and family therapists). MFT's are upset that LCSW's can be hired to do therapy, when that is what specifically MFT's are trained to do, but MFT's cannot work doing what LCSW's do. So if you want to work in a school as a therapist, you can do that as an LCSW, or even as an MSW. I myself am an MFT and saw many social workers hired along side of me to do therapy in the group homes and schools that I have worked in (which, yes, is kind of upsetting).

So once you get licensed, or even when you are working on getting your required hours before licensure, you have many options as to where you want to work. If you want to do therapy with kids, you can do that ... just look for jobs that are hiring MSW's who are working on their hours to work in schools or group homes. If you want to be a county social worker, this is much more case management and going out to homes and doing investigations and possibly removing kids from drug houses, etc. I am unaware of a job where you do both at the same time.

But there really is no such thing as 'child social worker' or 'school social worker'. If you end up working for CPS, then sure, I suppose you can informally refer to yourself as a 'child social worker', which all that means is you are a social worker who works with kids.

I know that was a LOT of info, and I hoped that helped at least some. Let me know if you have any other questions.

2009-11-01 11:54:39 by Marsha