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What is a Child Social Worker?

Career News August 10, 2013

If the world were a perfect place, every child would be born only to the most loving and caring parents. They would be well protected and have a stable environment in which to grow up. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Luckily, there is a system in place to help, and part of that system is a child social worker. What is a child social worker, and what do they do? They step into the role of guidance and assistance to help improve the lives of children.

Child Social Workers and Family Crisis

Growing problems these days are that teenagers are having babies. This presents a problem as these young people are rarely prepared for the major changes and responsibilities that raising a child call for. Single parents, especially in the case of father’s raising the children can often be at a loss. New adoptive parents also face a world of challenges that they may never have anticipated. All of these cases can be helped by the aid of a child social worker. This is a noble profession that allows social workers to look after the welfare of children, and help families learn and grow, and become a happy family unit. The basic answer to what is a child social worker is you help improve the quality of life of children and their families.

If this is a career field that interests you, know that a bachelor’s degree is the minimum training requirement to pursue this field of work. A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Social Work is a four-year degree. This typically means you will spend 4 years at a quality school such as University of Maryland College Park, Pennsylvania State University, University of North Carolina, Ohio State University, and roughly 400 hours of an internship. Once you have completed these tasks, you must get a license and certifications depending on your state. A master’s degree is an additional four years of training, but will open up a world of new opportunities and is a smart move for anyone with the ambition and means.

This is not a career for those that are not strong willed, however. You may see situations of neglect, abuse, malnourishment, and other situations that are hard for anyone to see. Most child social workers make home visits, followed by assessments and plenty of administrative tasks. Not all positions are on the front lines of course, some positions will have you going into schools and educating children and teens on social matters, as well as showing teachers how to see signs of troubled students and how to deal with children from these situations.

Salaries and Responsibility

Salaries for this career field depend on the position and state of employment, but on average you can expect to make around $45,000 annually. Working with secondary schools may net you more, often approximately $59,000 annually. The states that often offer the highest salaries for this type of job are California, Nevada, New York, and Hawaii. Other good news is that there is plenty of job growth in this field.

Children’s social worker often has a lot of responsibility, but the job does have many highlights. Now that you know the basics of this career, find out more by signing up to one of the schools listed below and start your rewarding career path today.

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