Jobs / Education and social services / 21-1021.00
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
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.
- US jobs
- 392,550
- Median wage
- $59,550 a year
- Job family
- Education and social services
Can agents do the work of child, family, and school social workers?
We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Education and social services:
- Task levelUnexploredNo task-level benchmark in our collection tests teaching, counseling, or casework.
- Project levelPartialThin, adjacent evidence only. GDPval, which spans 44 occupations, is the one benchmark in our collection mapped here. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons across all GDPval occupations. No benchmark tests work with students or clients.
Benchmarks for the job family
These cover work in education and social services, not always this occupation's tasks.
Typical tasks
From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.
- 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.
- Provide, find, or arrange for support services, such as child care, homemaker service, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counseling, or parenting classes to prevent more serious problems from developing.
- Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.
Other job titles for this occupation (71)
Adoption Social Worker · Case Manager · Case Worker · Child Protective Services Social Worker (CPS Social Worker) · Family Protection Specialist · Family Resource Coordinator · Family Service Worker · Foster Care Social Worker · School Social Worker · Youth Services Specialist · Adolescent Counselor · Adoption Agent · Adoption Coordinator · Adoption Counselor · Adoption Specialist · Adoption Worker · Casework Supervisor · Caseworker · Certified Child, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW) · Certified Children, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW) · Child Abuse Worker · Child Advocate · Child and Family Services Worker · Child and Family Specialist · Child Care Counselor · Child Development Consultant · Child Protection Specialist · Child Protective Investigator · Child Protective Services Specialist · Child Welfare Caseworker · Child Welfare Consultant · Child Welfare Counselor · Child Welfare Social Worker · Child Welfare Specialist · Child Welfare Worker · Children's Counselor · Community Organization Worker · Delinquency Prevention Social Worker · Early Intervention Specialist · Early Interventionist · Family Advocate · Family Caseworker · Family Intervention Specialist · Family Manager · Family Preservation Caseworker · Family Preservation Worker · Family Service Caseworker · Family Services Specialist · Family Support Specialist · Family Support Worker · Field Representative · Field Service Representative · Foster Care Worker · Group Worker · Income Maintenance Caseworker · Interventionist · Juvenile Counselor · Juvenile Officer · Juvenile Specialist · Licensed Social Worker · LMSW (Licensed Medical Social Worker) · Parent Educator · Program Support Specialist · Protective Services Social Worker · Public Housing Community Relations and Services Advisor · School Therapist · Social Worker · Youth Advocate · Youth Care Specialist · Youth Development Specialist · Youth Specialist