Brief description of the jobto top
School social workers work with children and their families, both in the school and home settings. Social workers help them to improve their social, psychological, and academic functioning. In schools, social workers address many varied problems such as: misbehavior, teenage pregnancy, and truancy. They also help teachers deal with students with problems. Increasingly, many school social workers teach workshops to entire classes. These classes usually deal with improving social skills. School social workers are employed by schools, individual and family services agencies, and state or local governments.
Required training/certificationto top
To get an entry level job as a social worker a person will need a bachelor’s in social work (BSW) or some closely related field like sociology and psychology. Today most jobs require a master’s degree in social work, MSW and this advanced degree has become the norm for most jobs in the field. If students go into a masters program full-time they should receive their degree in two years with a minimum of nine hundred hours of an internship with supervision. It will take a part-time student more time to complete the degree depending on how much time they are willing to put in each year. Students going into social work usually do not go on to get their doctorate degree (DSW or Ph.D). However, if they want to get a teaching position in a university, they will need a doctoral degree.
Differences by state to top
To become a licensed social worker in the state of New York the individual must graduate from a program recognized as leading to licensure in licensed master social worker. The program must require at least 60 semester hour of graduate course work. That course work is likely to include courses in: social work values and ethics, diversity, social justice, at-risk populations, and human behavior in the social environment. Along with this the candidate must have 900 clock hours of field experience.
Pennsylvania requires a master’s degree in social work or social welfare. The school must be accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. After graduation the candidate must take an exam. After the completion of the master’s degree, the individual must complete three years or 3,600 hours of supervised clinical experience.
Florida requires LCSW including a master’s degree with specific coursework, two years of supervision after graduation, an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course, and successful completion of the Advanced Clinical national exam from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB).
Texas requires LCSW including a master’s degree in social work with two years of 3000 hours of Board approved supervision after graduation, successful completion of the Advanced Clinical national exam from the ASWB.
To become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of California, an individual requires a masters’ degree in social work and 2 years previous experience. Up to 1000 hours under the supervision of another licensed mental health professional is also required. To become an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) in California requires a masters in social work and the renewal period is every 2 years.
In New Jersey School social workers are required to have a minimum of a master’s degree from a regionally qualified college or university and have completed 30 credit hours in eight areas of study. A Certified Social Worker certificate must be renewed every 2 years and have 20 hours of continued education. A LCSW must be renewed every 2 years and 40 hours of continued education.
Schools in NY awarding related graduate degreesto top
There are the five New York state schools which offer a master’s in social work or a doctorate degree in social work:
The University at Albany is the only state school that offers a master’s in social work (MSW) and a Ph. D in social work. This school is located in the middle of the state and it is also in the state capital. http://www.albany.edu/ssw/html
SUNY Brockport is another state school that offers the MSW. It is located just outside the city of Rochester. http://www.brockport.edu/grcmsw/html
Binghamton University has a social work program that is relatively new and is a state school. They most recently received accreditation for a master’s in social work (MSW). This school is located an hour south of Syracuse. http://gradschool.binghamton.edu/ps/programgroupdetails.asp?pgid=41html
Job forecastto top
Government economists expect job growth for school social workers to be faster than the average for all careers through 2014. Social workers with master's degrees will find jobs more easily in rural areas than in cities. The competition in cities for school social workers is very high. School social workers will have good job opportunities because of the trend toward integrating special education students into mainstream classrooms. Many of the job openings in social work are due to high turnover; many people leave the field because of low pay and high stress.
SocialWorkHelp.com
This site offers information thought books, other links, news, and discussions. It is a helpful site for those in the social work profession and those wanting to learn more about social work. http://www.socialworkhelp.com/
Professional organizationsto top School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA)
The SSWAA is devoted to support the profession of Social Work and the professional development of School Social Workers in order to enhance the educational experience of students and their family. Some of the goals of the SSWAA are to strengthen the profession of school social work by maintaining and increasing the number of school social workers employed by local education agencies across the nation and to opportunities for ongoing professional development. http://www.sswaa.orghtm
New York State Social Workers Association (NYSSSWA)
The NYSSSWA is a statewide organization dedicated to advancing the role of school social workers within the educational system. This organization aims to represent and enhance the profession of school social work in New York State, promote professional development, and to interpret school social work to the community and to disseminate information regarding school social work in New York State. http://nyssswa.orghtm
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
The NASW gives information about ageing, behavioral health, children and families, and health. This site shows different chapter for different states and specialty practice sections. It gives information for job opportunities and other related articles. http://socialworkers.orghtm
Name of journal: School Social Work Journal
Brief description of site: Gives brief improvements in the practice of social workers in the schools. http://www.lyceumbooks.com/sswjournal.html
Name of journal: Iowa Journal of School Social Work
Brief description of site: States the diversity of practice of school social workers in the United States. This journal is committed to the development of children’s education. http://fp.uni.edu/mccullag/article_editor/iowa_journal.html
Name of journal: Illinois Association of School Social Workers
Brief description of site: Gives an opportunity to subscribe to journal even if not a school social worker. All journal entries can be viewed on this website. http://www.iassw.org/journal.html
This site was originally developed by: Caitlin Brett, Chiaki Nara, and Morgan Dale for a course in Psychology in the Schools taught by Dr. Margaret Anderson at SUNY Cortland in Fall 2006.
