careers in social work

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Careers in Social Work

Historical ContextEducational Influences

Social Security ActSocial Work/Social Welfare

Graduate Education in Social WorkProfessional Licensure & CertificationNational Association of Social WorkersSocial Workers: Occupations and Skills

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P U T T I N G S C H O L A R S H I P, L E A D E R S H I P, A N D C I T I Z E N S H I P T O W O R K

What is Social Work?There are a number of complex definitions of social work, but simply put, it can be called a profession devoted to helping people function as well as they can within their environment. Social workers do so by providing counseling and services to clients as well as by working for improved social conditions.

Historical ContextSocial work tradition is rooted in turn of the century efforts to meet the needs of the poor, of neglected children and of exploited workers through the better organization of charities. Social workers led the fight for child labor laws, more humane industrial conditions, voting rights for women, and scores of other progressive milestones.

The Industrial Revolution brought about great changes. From about the �700s new inventions and the increased in factory jobs drew people from the rural areas to the cities. As people moved into the cities, they also moved away from families and friends. More and more people became dependant on others for help in new settings where they received little or no help from families. Almshouse or poorhouses were set up to collected and house the old, young, sick, mentally ill, blind or any other who was in need. Little state or colony supervision or control was permitted, it fell on the shoulders of the township, parish, or city to provide these services.

During the �800s many private agencies were established to help people. One such agency, the Charity Organization Society, began in England. In �877 a similar organization was founded in Buffalo, New York by Reverend Gurteen. This organization began one of the first formal training programs for social work. In-service training was given to nurses, settlement worker and the “friendly visitors”.

These friendly visitors were usually young, middle to upper class women. They were expected to become friends and advisors to the poor families. They worked in schools, hospitals and other charitable societies. These fields of practice helped lay the bias for the organization of the profession of social work.

Similarly training was done by other organizations by the early twentieth century. Training programs were also offered in colleges and universities. The New York School of Philanthropy, now called Columbia University School of Social Work, was the first school to train people for jobs with social agencies.

Medical Social WorkThe social welfare emphasis shifted in the �800s from reform to exploring how the environment affects behavior.

During this period hospital social work was developed. In the early �900s Dr. Richard Cabot, monitored psychological and social factors. He wondered how these factors affected patients reactions to their health problems and their willingness to use medical help.

Social workers collected the results of social, psychological and environmental information. When doctors were presented with the information, they found that they had a much better understanding of the patients. The specialization of medical and psychiatric social work developed from this practice.

Social CaseworkBasic knowledge of social casework was also being developed in the �9�0s. Principles and concepts of helping were needed that could be applied in all different institutional areas or fields of practice. Mary Richmond was the first person to formulate social work practice in a systemic fashion. In her books Social Diagnosis and What is Social Casework? she described how one goes about helping people deal with social problems. The theories of human behavior were integrated into social work. Freudian and other psychological theories influences our understanding and interpretation of how we react to things that happen around us.

SettlementsThe work of social settlements also influenced the development of the profession of social work. Jane Addams and Florence Kelly were settlement leaders who lived with and experienced things with their clients. The wanted to help change things through social reform (action) and social legislation (laws).

Some settlement workers got involved in issues and actively supported organized labor movements. Settlement workers also worked to improve social conditions through social action and legislation. They tried to help struggling groups improve themselves and become part of mainstream society. These settlements were the early inspiration for the development of social science programs on university campuses.

Settlements were described by an approach rather than a set of services. Depending on the approach they used, the settlement pursued many different activities. They began many services which as conditions, working hours, sanitation, sweatshops and child labor. They used these studies to stimulate protective legislation.

Careers In Social Work

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Educational InfluencesThe history of charity organizations differed from the settlements in regard to higher education. Charities kept accurate statistics and written reports. They sponsored educational and institutional programs for the working. Later affiliation with colleges was developed when schools provided academic content and agencies provided practical experience. This practical experience is what was later called field work.

In �9�9 the Association of Training Schools for Professional Social Work was developed to deal with education for social work in organized fashion. By �95� this organization had developed into what is known today as the Council on Social Work Education. This is now the accrediting body for schools of social work and sets the standard for MSW programs nationwide.

Social Security ActIncome support and social services during the �9�0s and �940s were things the upper class provided for the so-called worthy poor. In �9�5 during the Great Depression, the United States government formed the Social Security Program. Under this program government became the major source of public aid.

Changes in federal support for assistance were set up to help the needy on the basis of right or entitlement rather than on being worthy or unworthy as determined by the upper classes. The entitlement concept stated that all people have the right to resources necessary for a decent life. It concluded that society must make these resources available to those who need them. The Social Security Act of �9�5 marked the entry of the federal government into Social Welfare.

Social ‘Work’ / Social ‘Welfare’Many people see the participation on the federal government in Social Welfare as splitting of the field, that is social welfare social work and professional social work began to represent different things and offer different services. To fully understand the field, concerns and directions of the different agencies, you need to know what is meant by these two different concepts.

Social work is the practice of helping people use their social environment to meet their needs. Social environment consists of any family, friends, groups, organizations, agencies or government around the person. Social work as such wasn’t really seen as a profession nor was the term used much until the early �900s.

By the �940s, social casework, social group work and community organizations became the three largest practice concentrations.

Casework is direct contact between individuals and their families in need.

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Group work is working with several people at one time in a group setting.Community organization focuses on neighborhoods and larger groups of people.

In �955 seven associations that had up to that time represented all of the social work practices joined together to form the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the largest social work association today. A professional social worker had a masters degree in social work (MSW), and the majority worked as social caseworkers.

It was also during this period that social workers became more concerned with the professionalism of their fields. Because of this, clinically oriented fields, such as the medical and psychiatric fields, attracted more of the educated social workers. The psychiatric social worker held the most status and prestige in the field. Because psychotherapy was considered mostly for the rich, many professional social workers weren’t serving the needs of the most needy.

The concept of Social Welfare goes back to the first organized efforts of the public to help its poor. It coincides with the Industrial Revolution and labor legislation from the eighteenth century. Social workers are professionals and the majority of them do work in the social welfare system. However, socials welfare is an institutional arrangement that also uses many other professionals, such as nurses, doctors and psychologists.

The concern of social workers have expanded into the entire social environment. Social workers have to know a great deal about social systems that they work in. Including the social welfare system. They have to have skill in getting individuals and organizations to work together for the best interest of the client or families for whom they are working. Social welfare is only one system that a social worker works in, but it is probably the one most people think about when they think of social work.

Today there are two main categories of social work:

Direct Services work directly with people in one of three ways: casework, group work, and community organization. Many social workers have to deal with all three functions. In direct services you may have to deal with individuals and their problems one on one, or you may work with families or in small groups. You may also work with larger groups and do community work.

Indirect Services perform services on behalf of people rather than directly with them. These might entail work in administration, policy making, or teaching. Such social workers might direct or design

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programs. Also with other staff they might develop policy and procedures to improve the delivery of services. They might work with community agencies and teach staff or students. Indirect service may mean doing research, program evaluation, policy analysis, and statistical analysis. It may also mean coordinating social services with other services, developing budgets, conducting audits or performing management duties.

Today, professional social work is dynamic, growth profession based on knowledge drawn from the social sciences and its own research and practice. It has a Code of Ethics, a variety of practice standards and a nationwide system of accredited education programs designed to meld the impulse to help others with the skill and knowledge need to provide that help.

Those who seek a career in social work should be willing to commit themselves to a special way of life, as does any professional. A professional is often defined as one who is expected to have a sense of autonomy, a belief in self-regulation, a commitment to service, and a conception of work as a calling rather than a job. Social workers aptly fit that description.

Sense of autonomy: The decisions social workers must make often require sorting out a very complex set of relationships. In any given case, they may be responsible for negotiating a course between the needs and want of a client, the organizational needs and social responsibility of the agency by which they are employed, ethical and legal considerations, and economic and political realities. It thus becomes essential for social workers to autonomously adhere to the tenets of the profession and avoid being diverted from their chief goal - the well being of the client.

A belief in self-regulation: Professions have traditionally assumed the responsibility of regulating themselves, a philosophy that protects both the consumer of service and the integrity of the profession. The social work profession, in keeping with this philosophy, operates national testing programs to ensure that its practitioners are prepared for independent practice; supports state social work licensing programs; conducts an adjudication process which enforces adherence to the ethics code; and has a rigorous accrediting process for its educational institutions.

Commitment to service: This attribute is almost synonymous with the social work profession. Social work practice is often defined as “provision of service” and many of the traditional functions social workers perform are called “social services”. The relationship of social workers to their clients is never described as “ministering to”, or “curing”, but “serving” a particular individual or group.

Concept of work as a calling: As is the case with other

helping professions social workers in general are motivated by a desire to enable those they serve to enjoy a measure of health and well being, and to be productive members of the community. While other considerations surely enter into a decision to choose a career, the decision to become a social worker is usually predicated on a belief that doing so will contribute to the great good.

For those who can make the professional commitment, social work offers the broadest possible range of practice settings. Social workers provide their services in hospitals, schools, prisons, family service agencies, nursing homes, employee assistance programs, community mental health centers and community service agencies.

They are administrators at all levels of government. They are educators. An increasing number are opening up their own private practices. And a number have undertaken political or legislative careers finding that the skills they learned and the values they acquired as social workers are valuable assets.

Social Work Settings:Today you will find social workers in any location where people work with people. Where you decide to work will affect:

Your dutiesThe way things are handledYour working conditionsThe methods of social work practice usedWho your clients will beYour salary and work benefits

Mental Health: Social workers provide the bulk of mental health services in the U.S. and do so in a verity of settings, including private practice. Their chief goal is to help clients recognize a given problem and enable them to cope with it, to reach self-sufficiency, rather than become dependant on the care provider. Social workers have worked diligently to change misguided notions about mental health care so that those who need it can seek out free of doubt and fear of disapproval. They also help promote quality care, access to it and the protection of the rights of the mentally ill.

Typical Work Settings:Mental Health InstitutionState Mental Health HospitalsMental Health CentersResidential Treatment FacilitiesVeterans Administration HospitalPrivate PracticeHospital Psychiatric units

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Types of Job Functions:OutreachCrisis interventionSocial rehabilitationTraining in skills everyday livingConsultationsInformation, education and cooperationOutpatient diagnostic servicesOutpatient treatment & rehabilitationEmergency & residential servicesCooperation with hospital mental healthMarriage counselingIndividual counseling

Family and Child Welfare Service: The area of social ser-vices, both public and private is the largest employer of social workers. Availability of funds through taxes and through private donations helps decide how many services will be provided and who will be served.

Public services depend on which services the government mandates as must-provide services and the amount of fund-ing the government grants for these services. Also, social work specialization and the services provided vary with changes in social concerns.

When people lose their jobs, when single parents have young dependent children and cannot work, when chronic illness or the conditions of poverty prevent self-sufficiency, society provides whether temporary help or long term assistance through a variety of public welfare programs. Social workers not only provide direct service to those in need, but also de-velop public policy to ensure that these programs adequately meet needs.

In extremely difficult situations, the social worker may arrange for the child’s placement in a foster home or for ter-mination of parental rights and adoption. The child’s safety and well-being are the primary considerations in such cases, although every effort is made to keep the family intact.

Three main areas of family and child welfare services are income maintainence programs, social service programs, and block grants and referral services. Ex-amples of these three categories are as follows:

Income Maintainance Programs:Supplemental Assistance ProgramsAid to families with dependent children (AFDC)General Assistance (GA)Medical assistance (MA)Food stamp programEnergy assistance

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Social Service Programs:Adoption servicesCounseling services for families and individualsDay care licensingEmployability programsFoster care services for children and adultsHomemaking servicesInformation and referral servicesProtection services - children and adultsResidential treatment and referralTransportation servicesCourt ordered custody studies and mediations

Block Grants and Referral Services:

Assessment services for MI, CD, or MR (men-tally ill, chemically dependant or mentally deficient/retarded)Occupational training centersCommunity Action rural transportationHalf-way houses

Health Care Social workers are a vital part of the health care team along with doctors, nurses, and other health and mental health professionals. Health care, in the home as well as in the hospital, offers rapidly expanding employment opportunities for the social worker.

Social workers may also work in hospitals, hospices, health maintainance organizations, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and offices of physicians. Social workers in the medical setting may be caseworkers, medical social workers or clinical social workers.

Health related services outside of an institution are referred to as primary care. Social work as expanded into a variety of health organizations. You may find them in free clinics, community mental health centers, union health centers, health maintainance organizations, group medical practices, home health agencies and industrial settings. Social workers become part of a working team to deal with the medical, social and psychological aspects of health.

Typical Work Settings:HospitalsHome health agenciesHMOs & other care facilitiesStudent Health CentersAdolescent walk in centersAlcohol & Chemically

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dependency centersFamily planning clinicsCenters for victims of rape & violenceHospices/Aids CentersNeighborhood health centers

Typical Job Functions:1. Assessment of social and emotional factors - Social workers assess social and emotional factors as they affect the patient’s illness, need for care, and response to treatment and adjustment to care. They would also develop a care plan.

2. Counseling for long range planning and decision making - Social workers assess the patient’s needs for long term care, evaluate the home and family situation, and help the patient and his or her family develop an in-home care system. They also explore alternatives to in-home care and arrange for placement.

3. Community resource planning - Social workers promote community-centered services, including education, advocacy and referral.

4. Short term therapy - This area involves goal-oriented intervention in cases of managing a terminal illness and reaction/adjustment to such illness, strengthening family/support systems, and resolving conflict related to the lingering illness.

5. Other (specify under orders) - This area includes other medical social services related to the patient’s illness and his or her need for care. Other high risk indicators may be included that endanger the patient’s mental and physical health, including abuse/neglect, inadequate food/medical supplies or high suicide potential. (These services must be written under doctor’s orders.)

Gerotology:Social workers who specialize in the field of aging plan and evaluate services for the elderly. They may also help older people and their families deal with difficulties brought on by their decreasing health and changing circumstances. Social workers help the aged and their families obtain vital health and mental health services, maintain meaningful activities and relationships, and adapt to the aging process.

One of today’s most pressing social work challenges is to provide services to the “sandwich generation”, that is, adults who provide care for both their children and their parents.

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Typical Work Settings:

Adult day care centersCommunity planning agenciesHospicesNursing HomesRetirement CentersNutrition SitesVeterans Administration hospitalsSenior citizen centersLegislative bodiesOlder-worker employment programCommunity care agencies National aging networks

Typical Job Functions:Working with family and medical facility to

provide multiple services for elderly.Maintain communication with physician and pharmacist to monitor medication.Plan and coordinate family conferences between family and care providers.Act in an advocacy role for the client with a

variety of agencies.Comfort the dyingPlan age appropriate recreational and leisure activitiesPrepare court ordered documents for conservateurship

School Social Work:Schools increasingly employ social workers to help with some of the developmental and educational problems facing children and teachers. They often are able to provide the early support many children need to become secure, self-sufficient adults.

In �978 the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) published a taxonomy of tasks performed by social workers in schools. There came to be four accepted areas of service in school social work:�. Immediate intervention to reduce stress within or between individuals or groups.�. Problem-solving services to pupils, parents, school personnel, or community agencies.�. Early identification of students at risk.4. Development of coping skills to various groups in school.People enter school social work with backgrounds in casework, group work, clinical, or mental health specializations.

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Industrial Social Work/Occupational Social Work:During the �9�0s occupational social work was popular in Europe. It came to be called Industrial Social Work in the United States. It grew as an extension of the alcohol treatment programs that were being offered to business and industrial workers as employee assistance programs.

In the �980s industrial social work developed into a specialized area of social work. Services are provided to employee/clients whose personal problems interfere with their job performance. Social workers, whether they are employed by the corporation of the union, on-site or off-site, work with employees and their families to solve problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, family trauma, or work related stress. They also help the corporations and unions recognize and meet their responsibility to the community and to the greater society.

Because of the growing population of the elderly, another concern and service provided by industrial social workers in retirement or pre-retirement planning. Social workers are also employed in corporations and labor unions to provide a variety of work related services.

Graduate Education in Social Work (MSW)The Master in Social Work Program is designed to prepare professional personnel for advanced social work practice. MSW programs emphasize key components of successful social work practice, including evaluation and ongoing professional development. The MSW program includes both academic coursework and field education, has three components: foundation, concentration and elective work. The strength of the academic course work coupled with the quality of the professional field training makes this program well respected among human service employers.

The MSW is generally required for positions in mental health and always needed for supervisory, research, or administrative positions. The MSW is preferred for clinical positions and is essential for social workers in private practice. In �990 there were 9� accredited MSW programs in the country.

Previous training in social work is not required for entry into a MSW graduate program. Courses in psychology, sociology, economics, political science, history, social anthropology and urban studies are recommended.

Course Work within MSW programsFoundation:During the first year students study human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy and services, research, practice methods, special “at risk” populations groups, values, and ethics. Students apply this common set of knowledge, skills and values in foundation fieldwork.

Concentration:To develop specialized knowledge and skills in a particular field of practice, students select one of a number of concentrations offered by each individual school of social work depending on the faculty and research interests of the department. Courses focus on problems and people at risk, social service delivery, social policy analysis, intervention roles and methods, and critical evaluation of practice. Students apply this knowledge in fieldwork related to their career interests. Areas of concentration will vary from program to program. Some examples of the more traditional concentrations are: Children and Family Services: Emphasizes the development, management and delivery of services which meet the specific needs of children youth and their families. Graduate with this concentration work in juvenile courts, child welfare agencies, residential settings, recreational and leisure settings, child mental health centers, prevention agencies, school systems, and chemical dependency treatment centers.

Gerotology: Focuses on direct delivery to older people and their families, the development of related services and policies, and management and administration of programs for older people. Graduates are working in hospitals, nursing homes, home health care agencies and advocacy organizations.

Health: Emphasizes clinical practice with individuals, families and groups experiencing health related disorders in a variety of settings including hospitals, long term care facilities, private physicians’ offices, and home health agencies; management and administration of social service programs in health delivery institutions; and roles in human resources training/education in hospital settings.

Mental Health: Focuses on work with individuals families and groups experiencing mental health problems and on the management of mental

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health programs and agencies, corporate employee assistance programs, public mental health facilities, health maintainance organizations and private practice.

Social and Economic Development: Centers on the problems of underdevelopment, both in U.S. communities and in other countries around the world. The challenges of development include

improvements in living conditions and economic opportunities in neighborhoods, rural areas, regions, or nations that are struggling to achieve and maintain basic necessities such as employment, food, shelter, health care, and transportation.

Graduates of this concentration work in international organizations like CARE, UNICEF, Direct Relief International, Save the Children Foundation and the World Health Organization.

Electives:Students choose additional courses, fieldwork or a specialization to meet elective requirements. Some examples of elective areas are: Family Therapy, Women’s Issues, Management/Administration, Ethnic Populations, Employee Assistance, Chemical Dependancies, Research and Social Policy.

Fieldwork:One exciting aspect of the curriculum is the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to practice with professional supervision. In addition to the course work at the foundation and concentration levels, students must successfully complete fieldwork experiences in two or more settings. Based on career goals and academic guidelines, students choose field sites. Working with their academic advisors and field instructors, students develop specific goals for the field experiences.

Depending on individual interests, each student completes between �0 and �5 credit hours of fieldwork. This represents between �,000 and �,500 hours of intense work experience supervised by approved professionals.

Professional Licensure & CertificationIn �990, 44 states had licensing or certification laws regarding social work practice and the use of professional titles. Licensure regulates both the title and the practice of social work. Licensure is considered a form of public protection as it

regulates the scope or practice and the conduct of those who practice social work.

The National Association of Social Workers offers certification and awards membership in the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW). The requirements for ACSW membership include:

a graduate degree from a school of social work accredited by the Council of Social Work Education.two years of full time paid social work practice beyond a graduate social work degree.regular NASW membership.completion of the official application and payment of the appropriate fees.submission of three professional references.successful completion of the ACSW examination.

Licensure requirements vary from state to state. The Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) is a nationally recognized license with specific requirements to meet national standards as well as state criteria. In California requirements for the LCSW are:

a graduate degree in social work with a clinical/mental health concentration from an accredited MSW program.a minimum of ��00 hours of supervised clinical work after completion of the MSW program.coursework in Human Sexuality, Chemical Dependancies and AIDS.membership in NASWsubmission of three professional references.submission of resume and credentials of supervising clinician.notarized documentation of supervised hours.completion of official application and payment of appropriate fees.written examoral exam (scheduled only after successful completion of written exam)agreement to participate in 45 hours of continuing education for each three year licensing period.

The State of California Board of Behavioral Science Examiners located in Sacramento is the licensing authority. For more information on licensing requirements contact that office directly.

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NASW: The Professional AssociationProfessional people need the support and the resources of their own membership organization. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), with well over �00,000 members and 55 chapters, fills that role. It is the world’s largest organization of professional social workers.

NASW provides its members with professional development programs, legislative and political action programs, continuing education opportunities and professional publications which keep social workers abreast of the latest developments in their field.NASW members adhere to a Code of Ethics that

sets the standards of conduct for individual social workers and commits them to the humanitarian ideals and values of the social work profession.

Membership is open to educationally qualified social workers and social work students. Special low cost student memberships are available.

Applications for membership and information on social work careers may be obtained by contacting: National Association of Social Workers

798� Eastern AvenueSilver Springs, MD �09�0(�0�) 5�5-0��

Social WorkersOccupations and Skills

Occupation Alternative Titles Duties

Caseworker

CommunityPlacement Worker

Intake worker

Social Service Worker

Counsels & aids individuals & families requiring assistance of social service agency.Interviews clients with problems such as personal & family adjustments, finances, employment, food, clothing, housing and physical and mental impairments to determine nature and degree of problemSecures information such as medical psychological and social factors contributing to client’s situation.Evaluates these and client’s capacities and environmental resources to improve social functioning.Helps client to modify attitudes and patterns of behavior by increasing understanding of self, personal problems, and client’s part in creating them.Refers clients to community resources and other organizations.Compiles records and prepares reports.Reviews service plan and performs follow-up to determine quantity and quality of service provided and status of case.

Caseworker, Child Welfare

Aids parents with child rearing problems and children and youth with difficulties with social adjustments.Investigates home conditions.Evaluates children’s physical and psychological makeup to determine needs.Refers clients to community resources.Evaluates foster home environmental factors and personal characteristics of adoption applications.Places and is responsible for children and their well-being in appropriate settings.Counsels children and their caregivers concerning adjustments or child’s care, international behavior modifications needed or rehabilitation.Places children in adoptive homes and counsels adoptive parents pending legal adoption.Provides service to unmarried parents, including care during pregnancy and planning for a child.Arranges for day care or homemaker service.Maintains case history records and reports.

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Social Workers - Occupations and Skills


Caseworker, Family

Aids individuals and families having problems concerning family relationshipsor other aspects of their social functioning affecting unityof family and welfare of community.Counsels clients on problems including persona, home management,work adjustment, vocational training, need for financial assistance,care of the ill or incapacitated, desertion of parents or difficultiesencountered in travel or stabilization in new community.Helps clients to use agency’s services.In public assistance or voluntary agency ascertains client’s eligibilityfor financial assistance and determines amount of grand and assumesresponsibility for services rendered.

Social Group Worker

Develops program content, organizes, and leads activities planned to enhance social development of individual members and accomplishment of group goals.Interviews individual members to assess social and emotional capabilities and plans group composition in relation to personal and social compatibility of members.Selects program appropriate to particular group goals.Helps members through group experience to develop attitudes and social skills for improved family relations and community responsibility.

Community Organization Worker

Community Serv-ices Consultant

Information & Referral Director

Program Consultant

Plans, organizes, coordinates programs with agencies and groups concerned with social problems of the community.Promotes and coordinates activities of agencies, groups, and individuals to meet identified needs.Studies and assesses strength and weakness of existing resources.Interprets needs, programs and services to agencies, groups, and individuals to meet identified needs.Prepares reports and disseminates information.Maintains contact with representatives of other organizations to exchange and update information on resources and services available.May write proposals to obtain government or private funding.May assist in budget preparation and presentation.May assist in raising funds.

Community Rela-tions and Services Advisor, Public Housing

Tenant Relations Coordinator

Promotes tenant welfare in low income public housing.Initiates and maintains liaison between local housing authority and voluntary and public agencies for development and management of public housing.Facilitates establishment of constructive relationships between tenants and housing management and among tenants.Secures social services.Provides leadership to tenants in development of group activities, such as adult education and recreation.Refers families with personal problems to community resources.Cooperates with other organizations in development of under-standing and interest among voluntary and public agencies participation in long range plans for urban development.

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Camp Director Directs activates of recreation or youth work camp.Plans programs.Hires and supervises camp staff.Arranges for required licenses, certificates , and insurance coverage.Keeps records regarding finances, personnel actions, enrollments, and program activities related to camp business operations and budget allotments.

Director, Field Field Director Coordinates activities of civilian aids engaged in providing recreational and welfare services to armed forces personnel.Directs staff planning.Oversees activities of welfare workers in assisting service personnel to solve per-sonal and family problems.May plan and direct organization of specialized services in foreign cities.

Director, Recreation Center

Plans, organizes, and directs comprehensive public and voluntary recreation pro-grams at recreation building, indoor center, playground, playfield, or day camp.Studies and analyzes recreation needs, and resources.Oversees and assigns duties to staff.Interprets recreation programs and their philosophy to individuals and groups.Schedules maintenance and use of facilities.Coordinates recreation program of host agency.Cooperates with recreation and nonrecreation personnel.Works under direction of Recreation Supervisor.

Rehabilitation Center Manager

Coordinates activities and provides for physical and emotional needs of public welfare recipients housed in indigent camp.Cooperates with welfare department investigators, psychologists, and physicians in assigning activities to indigents and in providing specialized attention to them in accordance with recommendations.Appoints leaders of activities, such as food preparation and maintenance of grounds, from camp inmates in accord with democratic leadership principles and welfare department policy.Coordinates sanitation, food management, health, education, spiritual counsel-ing, and vocational activity programs in conformity with available facilities, needs of camp inmates and policy department.Interviews inmates and arranges with business and community leaders to place in jobs.Maintains discipline and arbitrates disputes.Arranges for entertainment.Maintains records.

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Alcohol and Drug Abuse Assistance Program Administrator

Coordinates government programs dealing with prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse problems affecting work performance of employees in private and public sectors.Studies composition of industrial and business communities and state agencies to determine methods of promoting information concerning alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment programs to executives and administrators in industry and government.Confers with management to explain purpose and benefits of EAP, attempts to establish programs.Instructs personnel in methods of recognizing and identifying employee prob-lems, referring employee to Area Services providers, and maintaining records of program-related activities.Consults with representatives of Area Service Providersto develop particpation in prevention and treatment programs.Consults with management and administrators of participating organization and ASP to evaluate progress of program and identify administrative problems.Implements corrective action plan to solve problems.Develops training materials.Prepares training materials.Prepares articles for newspaper and other media.Lectures and participates in workshops, radio, and television interviews, com-munity meetings, and other organizational functions.Prepares grant proposals and reports for submission to department supervisor.

Teacher, Home Therapy

Child DevelopmentSpecialist

Development DisabilitySpecialist

Infant Educator

Parent Trainer

Instructs parent of mentally and physically handicapped children in therapy techniques and behavior modification.Observes and plays with child and confers with parents and other professionals to obtain information relating to child’s mental and phsyical development.Evaluates child’s responses to determine levels of child’s development.Determines parent’s ability to comprehend and apply therapeuticand behavior modification techniques and parent’ social and emotional needs to formulate teaching plan.Develops individual teaching plan covering self-help, motor, social, cognitive, and language skills development for parents to implement.Instructs parents individually or in groups in behavior modification, physical development, and language development and conceptual learning exercises and activities.Revises teaching plan to correspond with child’s rate of development.Counsels parents and organizes groups of parents to provide social and emo-tional support for parents.Refers parents and child to social services agencies and facilitiates for additional services and financial assistance.Consults and coordinates plans with other professionals.Teaches preschool subjects to capable children.

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CAREER UCSB




Patient Recourses and Reimbursement Agent.

Investigates financial assets, properties, and resources of hospitalized retarded and brain-damaged clients to protect financial interests and provide reimburse-ment of hospital costs.Visits and interviews or contacts by mail or telephone, relatives, friends, former employers, pension funds, fraternal and veterans organizations and government agencies.Records documentation of financial resources in patent files.Analyzes date accumulated, such as disability allowances, Medicare, Medicaid, social security pensions, dividends, interset and insurance and determines ability to pay for hospitalization.Determines additional, sources from which reimbursements can be obtained.Reviews patients records to ensure that reimbursements are maintained.Applies for appointment of conservators to financially protect patients with as-sets over statutory limits.Occasionally attends court hearings to protect patient interests.

Child Support Officer

Investigates and analyzes child welfare cases and initiates administrative action to facilitate enforcement of child support laws.Reviews application for child support received form client and examines case file to determine that divorce decree and court ordered judgment for payment are in order.Interviews client to obtain information such as relocation of absent parent, amount of child support previously awarded and names of persons who can act as witnesses to support client’s claim for support.Locates absent parent and interviews parent to gather data, such as support award, and discusses case with parent to resolve issues in lieu of filing court proceedings.Contacts friends and relatives of child’s parents to verify information.Computes amount of child support payments.Prepares, filing indicating data, such as wage records of accused, witnesses, and blood test results.Confers with prosecuting attorney to prepare court case.Determines type of court jurisdiction.Confers with court clerk to obtain arrest warrant and to schedule court date for hearing or trial.Monitors child support payments awarded to ensure compliance with enforce-ment of laws.Prepares report of legal action taken with delinquency in payment occurs.

careers in social work

Technology

health maintainance organizations

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home health agencies

school social work

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social welfare

mental health