“If You’re Right for the Job, It’s the Best Job in the World”

Social workers play many important roles in the lives of foster youth. They are key to recruiting qualified foster parents, placing children in supportive homes, and coordinating resources for foster families.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) conducted a survey of its members working in the child welfare system, to determine the types of work they are doing, and how they view their jobs.

Social workers in the child welfare system conduct interventions and work directly with families to protect children and preserve family structures. They develop programs and support systems that aim to prevent child abuse and to provide safety nets and services for families in crisis.

The system includes a continuum of services such as child protective services, family foster care, group homes, kinship care services, and adoption services. Both public and private agencies are involved in the system, along with many other community resources (educational support, health care, financial and employment assistance).

The child welfare workforce is diverse and complicated. However, recent studies show that 90% of states have difficulty in recruiting and retaining child welfare workers. Challenges include low salaries, high caseloads/workloads, heavy administrative burdens, risk of violence, limited supervision, and insufficient training.

U.S. Government research found that child welfare workers with social work degrees (both BSW and MSW) perform their jobs better and experience lower turnover rates than their colleagues with other educational backgrounds. Among social workers working in a child welfare setting, 67% provide direct services, 29% provide administrative or management services, 25% provide supervision, and 14% fill other roles.

Key findings of the survey are:

1. Social workers in child welfare are more satisfied with their jobs than the general population of child welfare workers.
2. Work-related issues (how to solve problems confronting their clients) are more challenging than work-place issues.
3. Helping children and families is the most satisfying aspect of social workers’ work in the child welfare system.

View the full report here.