The Social Worker Role and Impact on the Community

Updated on October 22, 2024.

Social workers have an immense impact on individuals and communities alike. The role of social workers has shifted over the last few years and continues to evolve to match the rapid changes of the 21st century.

Social workers’ roles have grown to include crisis management as well as empowerment and advocacy. Social workers can empower communities by encouraging individuals to take an active part in shaping social services, providing education programs, and enabling long-term economic independence. Those pursuing a formal education in social work should understand the range of roles and functions that the field includes.

 

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What Do Social Workers Do?

Social workers help people cope with life’s challenges by acting as advocates to raise awareness for client needs and connecting them to solution-based programs and services.

Licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) provide individual, group, family, and couples therapy. Their specialized training allows them to develop strategies to change behavior or cope with challenging situations. Social workers with clinical training may involve other health care disciplines to create treatment plans for their clients.

Beyond clinical social work lies the role of macro social work. This refers to the collaboration between social workers, groups, community organizations, and policymakers to develop or improve programs, services, policies, and social conditions for communities. This is an important way for social workers to help individuals, families, and communities thrive.

 

Social Worker Job Description

The role of social workers involves a combination of research, personal interaction, solution development, and maintaining programs and services for vulnerable populations.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the typical social worker role includes the following duties and responsibilities:

• Identifying individuals, families, and communities in need of assistance
• Assessing clients’ needs and goals
• Helping individuals adjust to challenges, such as illness, divorce, or loss of employment
• Connecting clients with community resources, such as food banks and health care 
• Responding to crisis situations, such as mental health emergencies
• Following up with clients to monitor progress
• Developing and evaluating programs to ensure that client needs are met

 

How Has the Role of Social Workers Changed?

It’s undeniable that the social worker's role is changing. The basic structure of the social worker role is evolving to better address the needs of communities by supporting self-development and using technology to enable educational programs.

Some specific ways in which the social worker’s role is adapting and evolving include the following:

• As mental health concerns become less stigmatized and more widely discussed, licensed clinical social workers are experiencing a greater demand from clients seeking basic mental and emotional wellness.
• More and more social and mental health services are available digitally, making it more vital for social workers to connect their clients with online resources.
• A growing awareness of social justice has transformed the advocacy element of social work, making social workers more focused than ever on equity for all communities.

 

What Are the Different Types of Social Workers?

The role of social workers can vary according to context and position. Some social workers occupy a more general role and others work with specific groups of individuals to provide support and coping strategies. Below are the primary types of social work practice.

 

Child and Family Social Worker Role

Child welfare social workers aim to strengthen family units and provide support to children and families. These social workers sometimes intervene to protect children from physical or emotional harm or neglect.

For example, a child may have experienced tremendous loss or the effects of substance abuse disorders, among other emotionally traumatic experiences.

In these cases, social workers are sometimes called upon to investigate allegations and may testify in court proceedings and cooperate with the courts regarding these allegations.

They may also be instructed to conduct follow up visits with children in the household or the foster care environment where they were placed to ensure the safety of the child in the cases where abuse was found.

Therapy and counseling often follow as the social worker aims to provide children with the best possible environment that offers love, respect, and security.

 

School Social Worker Role

School social workers are an essential link between students, schools, and families. The social worker’s responsibility at school involves providing leadership, mental health support, clarity around school discipline, and other services.

More schools are operating online, and school social workers can interact with students online to provide career counseling, school admission information, and coping strategies on how to excel in online learning.

 

Health Care Social Worker Role

Health care social workers play a critical role in improving clients’ physical and mental health, especially vulnerable populations. They’re often involved at a policy level to solve biopsychosocial issues that contribute to poor health.

It also should be noted that they’re often involved at the personal level to provide case management for patients who need their services.

 

Clinical Social Worker

Social workers who deal with mental health and addiction can fall under the broad category of clinical social work (CSW) and help with the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental health issues and other behavioral disorders.

Clinical social work focuses on providing individuals with counseling and therapy to better manage their mental health and improve their quality of life.

 

Gerontology Social Worker Role

Social workers assist a growing number of older adults aged 65 and over who need support. These social workers are essential as the population continues to age.

They administer care and services for the unique needs of this demographic and provide both health care and social services that enhance their well-being. Social workers who focus on older adults’ well-being also work with family caregivers and ensure that their clients are being treated with respect and dignity. 

 

Ethnicity and Race Social Worker Role

Often, the role of social workers is tied to the broader cause of social justice, because social workers are committed to addressing racism, discrimination, and prejudice. Ethnicity and race social workers use action programs to address equity issues. These social workers are trained to address trauma and prioritize listening to the experiences and needs of communities.

 

LGBTQIA+ Social Worker Role

Social workers who focus on the rights and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people of all races and ethnicities, ages, faiths, and socioeconomic statuses through social justice and inclusion programs. On a macro level, social workers fight for laws, policies, and programs that support and value the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals, families, and communities.

 

What Is the History of Social Work?

According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the role of social workers was established in the 19th century.

The first academic class in social work was held in 1898 and ushered in a group of hopeful students seeking to create lasting change in communities and people’s everyday lives.

Since then, social workers have led the way for essential human rights movements and have attracted public attention to pressing issues facing vulnerable populations.

NASW regards the role of social workers as instrumental in facilitating the following areas of societal growth:

• Social justice and basic civil rights for all regardless of race, faith, gender, or sexual orientation
• Workers’ rights, including unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and Social Security
• Equitable treatment and care for those with behavioral health issues and developmental disabilities
• Access to social services and medical care for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and people with lower incomes
• Prevention of child neglect and abuse
• Treatment for behavioral health issues and substance use disorders

 

Who Are Some Famous Social Workers Throughout History?

Those interested in becoming licensed clinical social workers should consider prominent examples of social workers from throughout history.

• Jane Addams was a social worker, organizer, and activist. In 1931, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for establishing immigrant settlement houses during the 1900s in Chicago, making her one of the first women to receive the award.
• Frances Perkins was a social worker and the first woman appointed to a U.S. president’s cabinet. She served as secretary of labor under then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was responsible for drafting a significant part of the 1940s New Deal legislation.
• Whitney M. Young Jr. was a social worker, a civil rights activist, and the National Urban League’s executive director. He was also the dean of the Atlanta School of Social Work. Young was the NASW president and a respected expert in race relations in America. He was also regarded by Time Magazine as an inspiration for then-President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty.
• Dorothy Height was a social worker, an American civil rights activist, and a women’s rights activist. Height was president of the National Council of Negro Women and addressed issues facing African-American women, including unemployment, illiteracy, and voter awareness.
• Jeanette Rankin was a social worker, a women’s rights activist, and the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress. She introduced legislation that granted unrestricted voting rights to women across the nation and eventually became the 19th Constitutional Amendment.

 

Why Is Social Work Important?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the social worker field is growing considerably. The BLS forecasts growth of 7% between 2023 and 2033, a faster growth rate than the average for all professions. This growth reflects the reasons social work is important — it helps heal communities and empower foundational institutions like schools and workplaces.

However, the social worker role goes beyond institutions and services. At its core, it aims to heal and empower the people that make up these communities.

 Fostering human relationships, love, well-being, and human rights are the heart and soul of the social worker role. In many countries, the importance of social workers relies on breaking a cycle of trauma and poverty by encouraging individuals to transform their environment through helpful social services and support. 

 

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How Do Social Workers Support Communities?

People and their communities have the best understanding of the required social services that may remedy their day-to-day challenges. This is why a holistic approach to the role of social workers asks the people how they want to shape their solutions.

 

Encourage People to Be Involved With Shaping Their Social Services

A key aspect of social work is that communities identify their own solutions. It’s important to engage individuals and families in identifying the goals of their communities, whether that means ending cycles of violence, addressing substance use disorders, or empowering underserved communities. 

This first step ensures that the right challenges are being prioritized in the community and gives the same community agency and power.

 

Enable Economic Independence

Education and capacities provided in stage two can be translated into economic independence for people and their communities.

This theory models the age-old proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

One role of social workers is to talk to communities about their core challenges, ideate and provide capacities to overcome these challenges, and create a route for sustainable financial growth and independence.

 

Florida State University and the Social Worker Role

For more than 100 years, Florida State University has offered classes on social welfare — establishing us as a center of social work practice, policy, and research. Build on your bachelor’s degree in any field with a clinically focused online Master of Social Work (MSW) curriculum. Then, gain real field experience in various settings in your community, such as schools, agencies, and clinics.

Find out how earning your online MSW degree from Florida State sets you on the course to occupying a social worker role and contributing to meaningful services that impact communities and people.

 

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