About

Administration & Management

Social work administrators are proactive leaders in public and private agencies that provide services to clients. Many elements of this area of social work practice are common to administration in other organizations. 

Advocacy & Community Organizing

Advocacy is one of the keystones of social work practice. Social work advocates champion the rights of individuals and communities with the goal of achieving social justice. 

Aging

Social workers link older adults with services that help them live independently and with dignity, thereby maximizing their quality of life and participation in society. Social work with older adults focuses on the physical, psychological, social, and economic aspects of daily living

Child Welfare

Child welfare social workers serve some of the most vulnerable children, youths, and families. Social workers specialize in building on the strengths of families and helping them to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children and youths. 

Developmental Disabilities

Social workers also help parents of children with developmental disabilities understand their legal rights. They help parents learn to be advocates and find special services that enable their children to be as independent as possible.

Health Care

Health care social workers are in direct services and concentrate on individuals, families, and small groups. 

Others work in settings where the focus is on planning, administration, and policy. In the health care setting, social workers may conduct research, develop programs, and administer social work and other departments.

International Social Work

Functions of social work in international development are include direct services in communities, refugee camps, orphanages, hospitals, and schools, as well as supporting the efforts of national governments, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.

Justice & Corrections

Social workers who work in justice and corrections can be found in courts, rape crisis centers, police departments, and correctional facilities.

Mental Health & Clinical

Clinical social workers are one of the nation’s largest groups of providers of mental health services. They provide mental health services in both urban and rural settings, where they may be the only licensed provider of mental health services available.

Occupational & Employee Assistance

Occupational social workers help organizations re-engineer their structure and methods to improve efficiency, creativity, productivity, and morale. They may also work for a union and be involved in job counseling or organizing.

Policy & Planning

Social workers analyze policies, programs, and regulations to see what is most effective. They identify social problems, study needs and related issues, conduct research, propose legislation, and suggest alternative approaches or new programs. 

Politics

 Social workers are holding elective offices from school boards to city and county governments, from state legislatures all the way to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Social workers also play leadership roles in local, state and federal agencies.

Public Welfare

Social work in public welfare entails planning, administering, and financing programs, training and supervising staff, and setting and evaluating standards and criteria for service delivery. 

Research

Social workers in research typically tend to be academics with postgraduate degrees in social work. Research provides the framework for effective practice. 

School Social Work

School social workers act as the connection for school, home, and community services to help children with emotional, developmental, and educational needs. 

Substance Abuse

Social workers help individuals, families, and communities find ways to recover from substance use. They provide a much-needed ecological perspective to treatment that focuses on the client in relation to family and neighborhood environments, community support systems, cultural attitudes, and policies.