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Madelyn
Student
Freeman, South Dakota
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What does a day in the life of an adoption social worker look like?
I plan to pursue a degree in social work in college, but I don't know which field of social work I should go into when it comes to jobs. Being an adoption social worker is one of my top choices.
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Michelle M.
Actress
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Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Madelyn !
It's a good thing you are exploring the various populations and arenas to work in as a Social Worker and good that you came here for advice.
First, I would like to say that if you strive for Clinical Social Work for your Bachelors and Masters Degrees, that would be the best thing for the most optimum work potential. My opinion is the best forum would be to do mental health therapy for adults. You'll have a very wide variety of patients. As a social worker, you'll need to work with all populations for all issues. Think of this career as basic, not a career for one population. Also, it may really be too soon for you to know populations yet until you've done an internship. My advice is to become a clinical social worker and decide where you want to apply for work during your last semester of college.
Since there are so many numerous desirable places you can work as a social worker, I'd have to be honest and let you know before you find out for yourself, working with children is low on the list. The agencies that are deemed protective are very inflexible and sometimes are not client directed but policy directed and it can be sad and frustrating for the workers. It carries one of the highest vicarious trauma loads, too. That means that the actual situations you will see and be involved in are very upsetting. We do need people to work with children, but I would recommend it being in a clinic or hospital situation where the child has family supports and the issues are cognitive or mental health, not legal or social issues. There are no more adoption agencies as adoption is handled through local Departments of Social Services in most locales.
You will really need to learn more about the career and its' potential and explore it further. I think after your second year as a Social Work Major, you will get the gist of where you'd want to work. Always keep an open mind and be flexible as to where you apply for work at. Let your education make you well rounded and that will help you decide where to work. It just may be too soon to know since you haven't started the academics for it yet. You do not have to choose what population you'd work with, rather, when you graduate, you'll need to know how to work with everyone. You'll be qualified for that.
I hope this helps and I did not mean to sound any particular way, but working with children in foster care or protective services is one of the most emotionally and physically draining types of social service work.
It's a good thing you are exploring the various populations and arenas to work in as a Social Worker and good that you came here for advice.
First, I would like to say that if you strive for Clinical Social Work for your Bachelors and Masters Degrees, that would be the best thing for the most optimum work potential. My opinion is the best forum would be to do mental health therapy for adults. You'll have a very wide variety of patients. As a social worker, you'll need to work with all populations for all issues. Think of this career as basic, not a career for one population. Also, it may really be too soon for you to know populations yet until you've done an internship. My advice is to become a clinical social worker and decide where you want to apply for work during your last semester of college.
Since there are so many numerous desirable places you can work as a social worker, I'd have to be honest and let you know before you find out for yourself, working with children is low on the list. The agencies that are deemed protective are very inflexible and sometimes are not client directed but policy directed and it can be sad and frustrating for the workers. It carries one of the highest vicarious trauma loads, too. That means that the actual situations you will see and be involved in are very upsetting. We do need people to work with children, but I would recommend it being in a clinic or hospital situation where the child has family supports and the issues are cognitive or mental health, not legal or social issues. There are no more adoption agencies as adoption is handled through local Departments of Social Services in most locales.
You will really need to learn more about the career and its' potential and explore it further. I think after your second year as a Social Work Major, you will get the gist of where you'd want to work. Always keep an open mind and be flexible as to where you apply for work at. Let your education make you well rounded and that will help you decide where to work. It just may be too soon to know since you haven't started the academics for it yet. You do not have to choose what population you'd work with, rather, when you graduate, you'll need to know how to work with everyone. You'll be qualified for that.
I hope this helps and I did not mean to sound any particular way, but working with children in foster care or protective services is one of the most emotionally and physically draining types of social service work.
I understand where you're coming from. Thank you for your time and your advice.
Madelyn
You're welcome.
Michelle M.