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Essay: Current State of Social Work in the U.S

Veronica Lugo Rodriguez

Department of Social Work Ana G Mendez University

SWGR 506: Social Work with Individuals and Families.

Professor Zaimara Rodriguez

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What is the Actual State of Social work in the United States?

Social work is a profession that started that was established in the 19 th Century to assist vulnerable

people survive poverty. Social workers are professionals who help empower people and assist them by

helping them overcome life challenges. Generalist Social Work allows you to work in different work

settings like child welfare, shelters, nonprofit organizations case management, and so on. Social Workers

who are licensed can diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders. They can provide

individual and group therapy. Social workers need a bachelor's degree or a master's degree to be able to

work in the Social Work field. The U.S. Bureau of Anticipates 90,500 work openings by 2029. Master’s

Degrees are correlated with higher salaries and lower unemployment.

Throughout time social work has been demonstrated to be a growing profession. According to

labor statistics, Social Work employment opportunities are expected to increase by 7 percent from 2022 to

2032. (Torpey, 2018)Although most social workers work in an office setting, they may spend time

visiting clients and meeting with other workers in the field. Most social workers are employed full-time.

But they may be required to work evenings, weekends holidays to attend to clients or they may be

required to work on call.

A day in a social worker's life can vary dramatically depending on the industry organization and

general focus. Social workers can find employment opportunities in private and public companies.

Although it’s a profession that is projected to be in demand for the next upcoming years. Social Work

comes with its challenges which include, emotional and mental strain, high caseloads and workload

pressures, limited resources, bureaucratic challenges, risk to personal safety, and lack of recognition and

understanding. Ethical Dilemmas, Advocacy Challenges, Cultural Competence, Professional Isolation.

COVID-19 also impacted the social work practice because it created new opportunities as far as
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technology and exposed the inadequacy of internet access for many populations mostly in need of social

work services. Because of the Pandemic telehealth services were enabled because of the public health

emergency at the time.

The focus of social work is to promote social welfare by helping people of all backgrounds to

overcome their unique challenges. This can come in many ways either by doing research, working with

the elderly, child welfare, schools, communities, corrections, medically needy or disabled, mental health,

veterans, substance abuse patients, or on a Micro, Mezzo, or Macro level. All of this is important because

the social worker can assist with providing the resources they need. In many instances, many of the

clients would not be able to acquire the resources on their own. Because social workers often deal with

different types of people, it is very important to understand various cultures and their norms. It is also

very important to demonstrate a lot of patience empathy and understanding when working with clients

who are in need. Social work requires a knowledge of the dynamics of society and figuring out in which

ways it can be enhanced and improved.

Social Work can be traumatic because it entails working on a day-to-day basis with the worst and most

difficult aspects of society. This can eventually take a toll on emotional well-being. Nonetheless, it is a

necessary profession. In conclusion by looking at the latest stats and facts about a social worker's salary,

duties, and the complexity of this profession, one can better understand what social work entails. The

demand for social workers is increasing, making the social worker occupation one of the most popular

ones out there. Social workers’ efforts to help impoverished individuals and victims of physical and

mental abuse will remain vital. Those who aspire to pursue this career path should know that social work

is more of a calling than a job. Because it takes a special kind of commitment to make an impact on the

lives of the people you serve.

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Bibliography

Careers in Social Work: Outlook Pay and more Elka Torpey March 2018.
https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/article/social-workers.htm
The Future of Social Work: Challenges and Opportunities by FSU Online October 14, 2021
https://onlinemsw.fsu.edu/blog/the-future-of-social-work
The U.S Facing Massive Social Worker Shortages- What can be done About it. January 30,
2020https://therealtimereport.com/2020/01/30/the-us-is-facing-massive-social-worker-shortages-what-
can-be-done-about-it/
Essential Social Work Statistics in 2024
https://zipdo.co/statistics/social-work/
22 Fascinating Social Work Statistics Elma Mrkonjic January 28, 2022
https://goremotely.net/blog/social-work-statistics