Child, Family, and School Social Workers Salary in Ames, IA

Common tasks

• 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.