The Role of Social Workers and Their Impact on Society
This article has been updated on August 23, 2024.
At its core, social work is a helping profession that aims to transform lives through situational evaluation, resource connection, and advocacy. Their work can bring about progress for individuals and communities.
This high-level definition of social work highlights the potential impact of this important profession. However, to understand the role of a social worker, we need to explore the different client populations they support and the many types of social work they perform. These professionals can support clients in different ways, and it can depend on the different types of social work they can perform.
Social workers bring focused expertise that can make them particularly valuable in certain contexts or situations. For those considering a degree in social work, it’s critical to explore these different roles and how they uniquely impact communities and their residents.
The Job of a Social Worker
Social workers serve individuals, groups, and communities by helping people address the problems they face in their everyday lives. Clinical social workers who have earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree and the appropriate state licensure can diagnose and treat mental illnesses, behavioral issues, and emotional problems.
The fundamental duties of social workers typically include the following:
- Identifying communities in need of support
- Assessing the needs, circumstances, and support systems of clients
- Working with clients to determine achievable, actionable goals and plans to meet them
- Intervening in crisis situations involving abuse, mental health emergencies, or trauma
- Maintaining clients’ records, case files, and paperwork
- Connecting clients to resources, such as health care and food assistance
- Developing and strengthening programs and services that benefit clients
- Providing psychotherapy services, if a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW)
While these duties form a baseline for the role of a social worker, their responsibilities can vary depending on the situation. For instance, the role of a social worker helping a couple adopt a child may look very different from that of a social worker helping an individual overcome a substance use disorder (SUD).
What Can You Do With a Master’s in Social Work?
To put it simply, social workers work where the people are. Many find employment in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, or hospice centers. While numerous subcategories are associated with the social work profession, social workers typically fall under one of the following categories:
- Child, family, and school social workers
- Health care social workers
- Mental health and substance social workers
Here are some insights into the specific job roles for each of these categories.
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
Social workers in education may have jobs within an individual school or within the entire school district. They also work for family services agencies, community nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Residential facilities, such as those designed for formerly incarcerated parents reuniting with their children, also hire child, family, and school social workers.
Job titles for child, family, and school social workers include the following:
- Adoption social worker
- School social worker
- Child protective services social worker
- Family service worker
- Family protection specialist
- Foster care social worker
- Youth services specialist
In each of these settings and roles, child, family, and school social workers seek to determine the needs of the populations they serve and help facilitate meeting those needs through guidance, resources, and support.
Health Care Social Workers
Health care social workers may work in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, or nursing homes. Others find employment in hospice centers, doctors’ offices, outpatient clinics, and home health agencies. Health care social workers often connect people to the medical care, supplies, and support they need. They may also educate patients on how to make health care decisions, how to access medical information, and how to access care when finances are strained.
Job titles for health care social workers include the following:
- Case manager
- Disability coordinator
- Geriatric care manager
- Home health care social worker
- Hospice social worker
- Long-term care social worker
- Medical case manager
- Pediatric social worker
- Public health social worker
Whether they work in the oncology unit of a hospital or spend their days driving from home to home visiting elderly patients, health care social workers support their clients through compassionate and practical support that meets their physical — and often their mental and emotional — needs.
Mental Health Social Workers
Mental health social workers specialize in helping clients develop strategies that can help them overcome behavioral, mental, or emotional issues that may otherwise cause them to stumble. These specialized social workers can also use their skills to help individuals overcome SUDs. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there are over 200,000 clinically trained social workers, which outnumbers psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses combined.
From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the American Red Cross, many mental health social workers work for major government or nonprofit entities. Others work in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, addiction recovery centers, and community health organizations. Still, others establish private practices where they provide therapeutic services to individuals seeking mental health support.
Job titles for mental health social workers include the following:
- Addiction counselor
- Behavioral therapist
- Clinical director
- Family therapist
- Intervention coordinator
- Mental health specialist
- Psychotherapist
- Substance abuse counselor
Whether they’re recovering from acute trauma, processing life changes, or struggling with mental illness, people rely upon mental health social workers to help them cope with the challenges they’re facing. The need for social workers who can do just that is only growing.
Why Is There a Growing Need for Social Workers?
From a career growth standpoint, now is a good time to consider how to become a social worker. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that jobs in social work will grow by 7% between 2022 and 2032. That’s faster than the projected average rate of 3% for all occupations. Several factors are driving this projection.
The first reason concerns aging baby boomers. According to BLS, just over a quarter of the population is projected to be 65 and older, and nearly 12% of the population will be 75 and older. This demographic will likely have more complex medical care needs; health care social workers will be called upon to assist aging individuals and their families as they adjust to new factors like medicines, treatments, and lifestyle changes.
Another prime factor is a projected increased need for mental health and substance abuse social workers. The BLS projects that this subset of social workers will increase by 12% between 2022 and 2032 for a few reasons:
- Rising Treatment Rates: More people are seeking treatment for mental illness and substance use than they have in the past. The data analytics group LexisNexis Risk Solutions reported that mental health visits increased by 11% from 2022 to 2023.
- Ongoing Opioid Epidemic: The BLS reports roughly 2.5 million Americans suffered from opioid use disorder in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic.
- Growing Mental Health Crisis: An increase in mental health challenges for American youth had been building for years before COVID-19 and spiked during the pandemic.
Across all sectors where social workers assist people, and especially in the mental health field, the job outlook for social workers is positive. An increased number of social workers also means that more trained professionals are spending their careers improving the lives of others; this can be a transformative force in the lives of individuals and communities as a whole.
How Have Social Workers Made an Impact In the World?
While it would be impossible to note the millions of ways social workers have benefited individuals and communities, looking at a few examples can help us understand the types of change and growth that social workers can create. Here are just some of the ways that notable social workers have made a positive difference in the United States:
- Jane Addams (1860-1935), the “mother of social work,” cofounded one of the most famous settlement houses in American history in 1889, advocated for women to have a voice in community decisions, and cofounded the ACLU in 1920.
- Ida Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) used her skills as a social worker and journalist to advocate for racial and gender equality. She championed women’s suffrage, urban reform, and educational equality.
- Margaret Daniel (1908-1997) pioneered groundbreaking mental health social work services within the VA in the mid-20th century.
- Frances Perkins (1880-1965) advocated for sweeping labor reforms, such as reduced workweek requirements, minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance mandates, and factory investigations. She would also be the first woman to ever be appointed to a presidential cabinet, serving under Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- Dr. Bernice Catherine Harper (1924-2024) developed long-term program policies regarding continuity-of-care and psychosocial factors for those facing critical illnesses like leukemia.
From major changes in government policy to the quiet, critical work of supporting an individual’s mental health, the impact of social work on society can’t be understated.
Prepare For a Meaningful Career With a Master of Social Work From Keuka College Online
Do you have a desire to make a difference by helping people every day? Are you ready to show the impact of social work in society through your work? If your answer is yes, then it’s time to take a look at the Keuka College MSW, a fully online, part-time degree program, and prepare for the role of a social worker.
Our program takes just five semesters for those with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and nine semesters for career changers from a different bachelor’s degree. It’s led by a committed faculty of practicing clinicians who value relationships and mental health advocacy. Experiential learning opportunities and field placement support will give you the skills you need to succeed as a social worker.
To learn more about Keuka College’s online MSW program, get your digital guide.
