How to become a child welfare specialist
Child Welfare Specialist - School of Social Work
Back To Job Board| Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois What We Do Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois improves the well-being of people across the state by protecting children, strengthening families and building futures for those who have experienced trauma. We do this as a leading provider of a variety of child welfare services. LCFS is a welcoming organization serving children, individuals, families and communities of all faiths, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender expressions and gender-identifications. Who We Are
Join the team of professionals providing excellent care to children and families!
Child Welfare Specialist
KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES 1.Demonstrate understanding of the line of authority within the Agency. 2. Demonstrate understanding of the purpose of the caseworker position in relation to the other team members of the Foster Care staff. 3. Demonstrate good writing skills for case notes and documents concerning records of the clients. 4. Demonstrate the ability to relate well to a wide variety of personalities. 5. Demonstrate cultural competency. 6. Keeps information confidential. 7. Demonstrate good organizational skills to keep files in order. 8. Demonstrate the willingness to take training and supervision well. 9. Demonstrate good communication skills to work effectively as part of the team. 10. Demonstrate a positive, supportive attitude in relating to staff and clients. 11. Demonstrate the ability to be open and accepting of other’s ethnicities, races and genders. EDUCATIONAL/EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS Child Welfare Specialist I: Entry level-Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or related field Child Welfare Specialist II: MSW or related graduate degree (refer to DCFS Policy) or Bachelor’s Degree with 2 years of Child Welfare Experience Child Welfare Specialist III: MSW or related graduate degree with 5 years of related experience or Bachelor’s Degree with 7 years of related experience. All employees must enroll, successfully complete foundations training, and become licensed as a Child Welfare Specialist. Valid Illinois Driver’s License and auto insurance required. PHYSICAL AND SPECIAL DEMANDS While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, or controls; reach with hands and arms. Objects include a computer and keyboard, calculator, typical business machines such as a fax machine and copier. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and the ability to adjust focus. The employee may work in and/or visit Agency offices throughout Illinois and must be able to transport him/herself to these sites. The employee is required to have a valid driver’s license and must be able to safely operate a motor vehicle.
LCFS is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. |
What is A Child Welfare Specialist?
The job of a child welfare specialist is to provide case management services, including assessments, development, and implementation of service plan, crisis management, court representation, and accurate documentation of services. They are responsible for determining the suitability of the homes and resources of foster and adoptive parents for child placement. They assess client's needs and develop effective interventions to address them. Also, they provide the client with counseling, mentoring, and life skills training. Additionally, they conduct routine checks on clients to assess and ensure their safety and well-being.
Employers seek applicants with at least a bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, or a related field with a minimum of two years of experience in child welfare. Candidates must possess interpersonal, communication, time management, multitasking, computer, and teamwork skills. Some states may require a license. These professionals are paid $24.32 per hour, which is about $50,585 per year. This ranges from $41,000 to $61,000.
What Does a Child Welfare Specialist Do
There are certain skills that many child welfare specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed emotional skills, communication skills and problem-solving skills.
Learn more about what a Child Welfare Specialist doesHow To Become a Child Welfare Specialist
If you're interested in becoming a child welfare specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need.
We've determined that 74.8% of child welfare specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.5% of child welfare specialists have master's degrees. Even though most child welfare specialists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Top Child Welfare Specialist Jobs Near You
Child Welfare Specialist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a child welfare specialist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as social worker, progress to a title such as therapist and then eventually end up with the title director of social services.
Child Welfare Specialist
Social WorkerTherapistCase ManagerDirector Of Social Services
6 Years
Social WorkerClinicianCase ManagerPatient Care Manager
5 Years
Social WorkerTherapistClinical SupervisorClinical Director
9 Years
TherapistSupervisorAssistant DirectorCenter Director
7 Years
CounselorClinicianCase ManagerMedical Case Manager
8 Years
CounselorTeam LeaderProgram ManagerService Program Manager
9 Years
Show More
Top Careers Before Child Welfare Specialist
Internship(51,064 Jobs)
16.
6 %
Case Manager(84,959 Jobs)
13.5 %
Administrative Assistant(65,769 Jobs)
Top Careers After Child Welfare Specialist
Case Manager(84,959 Jobs)
17.3 %
Social Worker(77,340 Jobs)
11.5 %
Therapist(159,770 Jobs)
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Child Welfare Specialists in America make an average salary of $50,377 per year or $24 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $71,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $35,000 per year.
Average Child Welfare Specialist Salary
$50,377 Yearly
$24.
22 hourly
$35,000
10 %
$50,000
Median
$71,000
90 %
See More Salary Information
What Am I Worth?
How To Become a Child Welfare Specialist Career OverviewStates With The Most Child Welfare Specialist Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active child welfare specialist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where child welfare specialists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Average Salary: Job Openings:
Number Of Child Welfare Specialist Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 4,204 | $55,658 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 2,657 | $47,631 |
| 3 | Florida | 2,445 | $34,430 |
| 4 | Texas | 2,168 | $54,275 |
| 5 | New York | 2,131 | $63,544 |
| 6 | Illinois | 1,640 | $55,465 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 1,548 | $47,178 |
| 8 | Georgia | 1,263 | $43,597 |
| 9 | Maryland | 1,197 | $66,540 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 1,135 | $55,720 |
| 11 | Washington | 1,123 | $67,973 |
| 12 | Michigan | 1,122 | $48,708 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 1,041 | $79,772 |
| 14 | Virginia | 1,018 | $56,729 |
| 15 | Ohio | 1,016 | $49,737 |
| 16 | Minnesota | 959 | $67,125 |
| 17 | Arizona | 910 | $42,891 |
| 18 | Indiana | 787 | $41,197 |
| 19 | Colorado | 778 | $56,229 |
| 20 | Missouri | 668 | $41,833 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 643 | $51,578 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 572 | $44,636 |
| 23 | Iowa | 530 | $51,025 |
| 24 | Oregon | 493 | $63,395 |
| 25 | Connecticut | 486 | $49,610 |
| 26 | South Carolina | 455 | $46,535 |
| 27 | Louisiana | 396 | $37,774 |
| 28 | Alabama | 378 | $39,337 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | 368 | $35,919 |
| 30 | Kentucky | 361 | $39,391 |
| 31 | Arkansas | 351 | $37,636 |
| 32 | Utah | 346 | $45,914 |
| 33 | Nebraska | 345 | $44,969 |
| 34 | Kansas | 333 | $51,172 |
| 35 | Maine | 268 | $46,597 |
| 36 | Nevada | 253 | $58,431 |
| 37 | Mississippi | 250 | $32,544 |
| 38 | Idaho | 236 | $60,177 |
| 39 | New Mexico | 228 | $48,255 |
| 40 | Montana | 217 | $53,428 |
| 41 | Hawaii | 196 | $40,301 |
| 42 | New Hampshire | 193 | $52,472 |
| 43 | Alaska | 186 | $68,252 |
| 44 | West Virginia | 167 | $54,652 |
| 45 | Delaware | 149 | $46,594 |
| 46 | Rhode Island | 149 | $44,749 |
| 47 | North Dakota | 117 | $62,928 |
| 48 | South Dakota | 108 | $50,345 |
| 49 | Vermont | 96 | $45,726 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 84 | $48,798 |
Child Welfare Specialist Education
Child Welfare Specialist Majors
Social Work
25.
1 %
Psychology
22.0 %
Criminal Justice
13.2 %
Child Welfare Specialist Degrees
Bachelors
74.8 %
Masters
17.5 %
Associate
Top Colleges for Child Welfare Specialists
1. SUNY at Albany
Albany, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,011
Enrollment
13,434
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
3. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
4. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
5. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
6. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,464
Enrollment
9,639
7.
Hunter College of the City University of New YorkNew York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,182
Enrollment
16,205
8. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
9. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,595
Enrollment
30,184
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 29.8% of child welfare specialists listed social work on their resume, but soft skills such as emotional skills and communication skills are important as well.
- Social Work, 29.8%
- Foster Care, 16.2%
- Child Safety, 4.3%
- Child Welfare, 4.3%
- Court Hearings, 3.4%
- Other Skills, 42.0%
Choose From 10+ Customizable Child Welfare Specialist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Child Welfare Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Child Welfare Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Child Welfare Specialist Demographics
Child Welfare Specialist Gender Distribution
Female
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among child welfare specialists, 79.8% of them are women, while 20.2% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among child welfare specialists is White, which makes up 65.
9% of all child welfare specialists.
- The most common foreign language among child welfare specialists is Spanish at 83.3%.
Work Experience Programs For Child Welfare Specialists
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
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Online Courses For Child Welfare Specialist That You May Like
Advertising Disclosure The courses listed below are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the course, we may receive a commission.
Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners
In the U.S., social policy accounts for two-thirds of government spending.
Knowing how policies are constructed, what values underlie them, and how they succeed or fail makes everyone more effective at work or in their civic role. This specialization includes an HONORS track in which learners will complete a professional social policy analysis.\n\nTeachers, health care workers, police, and social workers interact with policy daily, but all of us should care about the impact and effectiveness of...
View Details on Coursera
Social Services for Families, Seniors and Those with Disabilities
Course 4 discusses four populations: families, poor families, people with disabilities, and people as they age. This course addresses issues of power, oppression, and white supremacy. -The first module identifies the needs of children and the role of the state in child development. We will explore changes in the family and the resulting debates about how to best support families and child development. We’ll appraise family leave and child care programs for their role in supporting paid work and.
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Equine Welfare and Management
This unique course was developed by veterinarians at the world-renowned University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The course will address horsemanship from a welfare perspective, within the context of “The Five Freedoms” of animal welfare. We’ll explore equine physiology, behavior and basic needs including housing, nutrition, hygiene and disease management. You’ll learn how to perform basic tasks to assess the overall condition of the horse and identify problem areas. We’ll...
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Updated September 9, 2022
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Profession Information Security Specialist – Ucheba.ru
nine0002 College of Economic International RelationsFor graduates of 9th and 11th grades.
Higher education online
Federal project of distance education.
I would go to the oil industry!
Take the test, find out your future profession and how to get it. nine0005
Future technologies
Get inspired to become a cool engineer to change the world
Student projects
Moscow Polytechnic University students talk about their inventions
Chemistry and Biotechnology at RTU MIREA
120 years of training experience
International College of Arts and Communications nine0003
MKIK - modern college
English
Together with Wall Street English experts, we decided to talk about English in a way that would make you want to learn it.
15 rules of safe behavior on the Internet
Simple but important rules for safe online behavior.
Olympiads for schoolchildren
nine0004 List, calendar, levels, benefits.First economic
We talk about what lives and how the REU named after G.V. Plekhanov.
Ticket to Holland
Participate in the competition and win a trip to Holland to study at one of the summer schools at Radboud University.
Digital Heroes
They create Internet services, social networks, games and applications that are used daily by millions of people around the world. nine0005
Jobs of the future
How new technologies, scientific discoveries and innovations will change the landscape of the labor market in the next 20-30 years
Dream professions
Together with the Foxford online learning center, we decided to ask schoolchildren who they dream of becoming and where they plan to go.
Economic Education
About what the modern economy is and what career prospects open up for future economists. nine0005
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