Community & Social Service
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
Also called: Adoption Social Worker, Case Manager, Case Worker, Child Protective Services Social Worker (CPS Social Worker)
US median pay
$59,550
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+4.4%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
33,900
405,100 employed
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Preparation 4/5 · Considerable preparation
What this job is
Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.
What they do day to day
- Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
- Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
- Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty.
- Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
- Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
- Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
- Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
- Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.
- Refer clients to community resources for services, such as job placement, debt counseling, legal aid, housing, medical treatment, or financial assistance, and provide concrete information, such as where to go and how to apply.
- Counsel individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding issues including mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, physical abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, child care, or medical care.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Social Perceptiveness4.1/5
- Service Orientation4.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.9/5
- Time Management3.8/5
- Persuasion3.8/5
- Negotiation3.8/5
- Coordination3.8/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service4.3/5
- Therapy and Counseling4.1/5
- Psychology4.1/5
- English Language3.8/5
- Administrative3.6/5
- Sociology and Anthropology3.4/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 4 of 5 — Considerable preparation. Usually a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Bachelor's degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Bachelor's degree69%
- Master's degree26%
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.