Social workers honored during March

March 1, 2010

Before Frances Perkins became the first woman to be appointed to the cabinet of a U.S. president, she was a social worker.

Before Jane Addams became one of the first women to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, she was educated as a social worker.

Before Whitney M. Young became the executive director of the National Urban League, he was trained as a social worker.

As we honor Richland County Children Services social workers this month, it’s worth looking back at the distinguished history of the social worker profession.

Since the first social worker class was offered in the summer of 1898 at Columbia University, social workers have helped lead the way in developing private and public organizations to serve people in need.

Americans enjoy many privileges today because early social workers saw miseries and injustices and took action, inspiring others along the way. Many of the benefits we take for granted today came because social workers, working with families and institutions, spoke out against abuse and neglect.

Thanks in large part to social workers, 
-- the civil rights of all people regardless of gender, race, faith or sexual orientation are protected.
-- Workers enjoy unemployment insurance, disability pay, worker’s comp and Social Security.
-- People with mental illness and developmental disabilities are now afforded humane treatment.
-- Programs such as Medicaid and Medicare provide access to health care for the poor, disabled and elderly.
-- Society seeks to prevent child abuse and neglect.
--  And treatment for mental illness and substance abuse is gradually losing its stigma.

There are now more than 600,000 professionals in the United States holding social work degrees. How are social workers continuing to make a positive difference today?

According to a 2006 study of licensed social workers:

-- Social workers have advanced educational preparation and practice experience. A master’s in social work (MSW) is the predominant social work degree for licensed social workers (79 percent of active practitioners).
-- Social workers’ most frequent specialty practice areas are mental health (37 percent), child welfare/family (13 percent), health (13 percent) and aging (9 percent). 
-- Social workers spend the majority of their time providing direct client services (96 percent), followed by consultation (73 percent) and administration/management (69 percent). 
-- With 12 percent of respondents planning on leaving the workforce in the next two years and the increasing need for social work services, there will likely not be enough social workers to meet the needs of clients. 
-- Social workers have the right education, experience, and dedication to help people help themselves whenever they need it. It takes a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral social work degree—with a minimum number of hours in supervised fieldwork—to become a social worker.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for social workers is expected to grow twice as fast as any other occupation, especially in gerontology, home healthcare, substance abuse treatment, private social service agencies, and school social work.

It’s clear the field of social work has a proud and distinguished past, filled with service to children, adults and families in need. It’s even more clear the need for the work done by social workers is only increasing in today’s society.

We applaud Richland County Children Services social workers this month. But we appreciate their work all year long.

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