There’s one thing you should get clear about right away:
A career in social work in New York state isn’t just a job. It’s a calling, and it’s a commitment to a mission.
That means you aren’t getting paid for marching across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the latest episode of police brutality uncorked by NYPD—but you’ll do it because you want to give voice to the fight for justice…
It means you’ll carry Naloxone around all the time and stop and check anyone passed out in a doorway at any time, because they are people and deserve life….
It means you’ll lay awake thinking of placement options for the latest foster care case to land on your desk, even though you are off the clock, because every child deserves a chance.
You’re setting yourself up here for a full-on vocation. It’s a career where you can dedicate yourself to making lives better… and then see it actually happen, one person and one family at a time.
There’s no better thing to do with your life and no better place to do it than New York.
MSW Jobs vs BSW Jobs: Licensed Social Worker Careers in New York Versus Jobs With a BSW but No License
New York has a simple and straightforward two-tier licensing structure for social workers:
- All clinical and master social workers must hold a state-issued license…
- Being eligible for a license starts with a Master of Social Work degree…
- That MSW makes you eligible for the entry-level LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker) license…
- After three years of supervised practice as an LMSW, you can go for the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) license.
Many social work positions in the state will accept applicants with either license. In New York, the only real difference between an LMSW and LCSW is that an LMSW has to work under the general supervision of an LCSW. Otherwise, they can perform all the same clinical work… and often do.
So when it comes down to it, the biggest divide among jobs in the field is between licensed social work jobs that require an MSW and those that don’t require a license:
- Only clinical practice (defined as diagnosis, psychotherapy, and assessment-based treatment planning) requires a license; a license requires an MSW.
- So anyone with only a BSW is going to be hunting for non-clinical community- and program-focused positions only.
- An MSW and a license definitely doesn’t limit you to clinical roles, it only expands your ability to provide direct person-centered interventions.
BSW Jobs in New York Offer a Stepping-Stone and a Career Path
BSW jobs are easy to identify due to their lack of license requirements. Just because they are unlicensed, however, doesn’t mean these jobs aren’t important or that earning a BSW or other human services related bachelor’s isn’t a rigorous process.
If BSW graduates can’t get licensed to practice in New York, you may wonder why the degree is so popular here.
There’s a two-part answer to that question: With a BSW you become job-ready while also becoming eligible for the advanced-standing Master of Social Work degree.
- An advanced-standing MSW program grants you an MSW, only faster — as little as one year rather than two. But you need a BSW from a CSWE (Council on Social Work Education)-accredited program to be eligible. That means a BSW cuts a year off your MSW, and gets you license-ready that much faster. It’s the big reason most future New York social workers go for a Bachelor of Social Work rather than other human services degrees.
- Becoming job-ready with a BSW opens up a lot of possibilities in the broader field of behavioral health/human services..It’s even possible for BSW graduates to engage in some non-clinical master social work tasks, but only under the supervision of an LCSW or LMSW. A bachelor’s in social work even meets the qualifications for certain licensed roles outside of social work, such as the CASAC (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor).
Social Work Job Descriptions Cover All of Society’s Biggest Challenges… And You’ll Find Every One of Them Here in New York
Social work history here is deep and the accomplishments of New York social workers are epic in the field and known around the world. It’s not just the foundational education programs and groundbreaking innovations like Bellevue, the first public hospital in the United States; it’s the legacy of legends like James Russell Dumpson, the first social worker to serve as Welfare Commissioner of NYC and the only Black commissioner in the country at the time.
There is an infinite variety of social ills, most of which can be found within a four-block radius of Livonia and Rockaway on any given night… and there’s twice as many ways to start solving them. Social workers in New York were the first to use settlement houses to deal with societal growing pains under industrialization. And in the generations since, they’ve continued in that spirit with innovative outreach efforts around activities as diverse as basketball and chess, building connections and a sense of possibility within marginalized communities.
This puts many types of social work careers on the table. A social work career born in New York can put you through so many episodes and life-changing experiences that if you kept score of it all your resume would be a mile long. There are so many options and so many needs that it’s easy to take on new challenges and explore new areas of practice with every year that passes.
As diverse and varied as they may be, the overall pattern to these jobs is as consistent as a heartbeat:
- Assess the needs or issues facing individuals, families, or communities
- Analyze those problems with the expertise of a strong social work education
- Identify resources and avenues for assistance
- Develop plans and create opportunities for solutions
- Counsel, manage the situation, and assess progress over time
- Create ways for the system to prevent or mitigate similar problems in the future
It’s that last one that fully engages what social work careers in New York are about. It’s not just about addressing the immediate need, or fixing the problem of right now. It’s about doing all that plus leaving the world a safer, better, and healthier place for the next generation.
New York Social Worker Careers Are Shaped by Specializations
The specialty you choose to master in the field has a big impact on your daily experiences as a New York social worker.
Maybe you’re working with children from Fort Drum who are dealing with the stress and dislocation that comes from having a parent on deployment for long periods. Maybe you spend your days organizing and leading recovery sessions for substance use disorder patients in the cold, stony halls of Attica. Maybe you’re putting together briefings for UN committees exploring ways to end world hunger.
Those daily experiences are quite different, and your path to them depends on the choices you make in degree concentrations and post-graduate certificate studies. With a high degree of specialization in so many fields, jobs lean on expertise you build in the educational process.
Social work roles available in New York include, but aren’t limited to, these kinds of roles:
- Social Work Case Management
- Geriatric Social Work
- Youth Social Work
- Child Welfare Social Work
- Adoption Agency Social Work
- Forensic Social Work
- Crisis Social Work
- Medical Social Work
- Homeless Social Work
- Hospice Social Work
- Immigration Social Work
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Work
- School Social Work
- Military Social Work
- Social Justice Social Work
There’s a mixture of micro, macro, and mezzo work in each of those types of social work jobs. In some cases, like crisis care, they will mostly be devoted to clinical work; for others, such as criminal justice social work jobs, it’s not unusual to find all different level of duties all wrapped up in one position.
But one thing you’ll have to be clear about is this: all careers in social work in New York will depend on your level of education, and whether you’re licensed.
Some Say the Best Careers in Social Work are Ones that Involve Giving People Opportunities
The people who made social work the field it is today didn’t have a list of different helpful roles to choose from. They saw a need and went out and made their own roles… and made a whole new profession while they were at it.
Not surprisingly, many of the innovators in the field have been from New York. And while there’s plenty of formalities in social services today, the beating heart of innovation is still alive and well in NYC social work jobs, too.
That leads to efforts like Greyston Bakery in Yonkers. Established in 1982 to offer employment to individuals who otherwise face barriers to employment, the bakery hires with no background check, no resumes, and no interviews.
The organization has since branched out into workforce development programs to extend its reach even beyond direct employees. The goal now is to offer employment opportunities to at least 40,000 people by 2030… and they’re on track to make it happen.
With a master of social work and a bright idea, you can go a long way in New York to making better lives. And in ways you may not have even thought of yet.
New York Social Work Jobs Can Involve Focusing Your Efforts at the Individual-Level (Micro), Program-Level (Mezzo) or Community-Level (Macro)
Something that everyone going into social work runs into almost immediately is people talking about macro, micro, and mezzo social work jobs. Every specialty area of practice in the list above, and many more, has roles at the macro, micro, and mezzo levels.
What’s the difference, and how does the kind of work you want to do fit in?
Micro social work is mostly what you think about when you think of what social workers do: direct engagement with individuals and families to help them deal with acute and immediate problems. It’s the kind of practice that social work licenses are designed to regulate. That means it covers the core piece of what defines clinical practice – the ability to diagnose, develop treatment plans, and provide counseling.
Mezzo social work happens at one step back from direct clinical assistance. These are roles that enable micro-level work by building organizational connections, developing services for communities, and operating at the programmatic level of assistance. You might interact with clients regularly, but in a capacity that’s more administrative than clinical.
Macro social work is true big-picture social services work that takes social workers to the halls of state legislature, and even the halls of congress. This is the kind of advocacy, policy development, research, and administration that can impact services for not only individuals and communities, but even the whole state or country. Real leadership in social services often happens at the macro level.
Social work jobs with clinical duties will always fall into the micro category; those without direct client contact or clinical assistance will usually be in the macro or mezzo roles.
It’s not unusual for clinical practitioners in micro roles to eventually move up to more big-picture macro practice, or to handle some macro and mezzo types of work as part of their duties. The opposite isn’t true—macro and mezzo roles that aren’t licensed have to stay in their lanes.
All of these roles are critical and can be as specialized as any of the population-focused practice areas.
At the Macro-Level, Social Work Jobs Aim To Change the Lives of Millions of People at Once
Many clinical social workers drill down into the details. It’s a big success to get a single client into substance abuse therapy; placing a whole family in new housing might be worth throwing a party.
But in places of power, a few strokes of the pen can change policy for thousands or even millions of people at once. If big-picture social welfare and human services issues interest you, then you are in the right place for macro social work jobs in New York.
New York social workers like Frances Perkins, who went on to become the first female Secretary of Labor under Franklin Roosevelt, have a history of making things happen at the highest levels of American politics.
Home of the United Nations as well as important national and international social justice organizations like the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union, a lot of the thought and drive behind new trends in social work happen here.
Jobs in macro practice may have titles like:
- Police and Research Analyst
- Community Educators
- School-Based Early Support Program Director
- Victims Advocate
- National Organizing Director
- Housing Justice Policy Manager
- Senior Advocacy and Campaign Strategist
What these roles lack in direct client contact, they make up for in swing-for-the-fences energy. If you can strategize like a chess hustler and have the self-confidence to put your ideas forward, you can make major differences that will cascade down to people in the streets… and around the country.
A Career at the Mezzo-Level Lets You Improve How Social Work Gets Done in New York
There’s no getting around the fact that there is a lot of bureaucracy in the human services field. Nowhere is that more true than in New York, where a patchwork of overlapping and sometimes conflicting social service agencies has been piling up roughly since Washington lost the Battle of Long Island.
New York is a place where you have to put down the make and model of your car to get food stamps. Every social worker here has a funny but tragic story to tell of getting passed in a complete circle through various assistance agency phone trees. It’s a system where it’s simply impossible for average people in need to get those needs taken care of by themselves.
With the largest city in the country and a more diverse population than many entire nations, there is a lot of friction to overcome in New York social services.
Mezzo social work jobs are the grease that makes the whole big machine go. These are the folks who know the ins and outs of the system and can connect people with the services they need.
- Human Services Specialist
- Volunteer and Events Coordinator
- Case Manager
- Case Planner
- Family Worker
- Social Work Assistant
- After-School Activity Specialist
- Environmental Organizer
- Voter Registration Field Organizer
These roles may involve client contact, but not in a therapeutic role. Instead, they come down to information gathering, customer service, or intake and processing tasks. That doesn’t make them, or the social work education that you have gotten, any less important. Sometimes helping someone file the right form in the right way can make the difference in gaining access to things as fundamental to life as housing, food assistance, education, and healthcare.
Micro-Level Licensed Clinical Social Worker Jobs Open up Patient Therapy Roles in New York
The heavy hitters for master’s in social work careers in New York are clinical practice jobs: the kind of positions that LCSW and LMSW credentials qualify you for. These are the destination for most MSW graduates here, and the ones that offer a shot at making the biggest differences in individual lives.
Far and away the most common job title for micro-level social workers in New York is simply Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
But you will find similar positions with other titles as well, depending on specializations:
- Forensic Social Worker
- Medical Social Worker
- Psychiatric Social Worker
- School Based Social Worker
And you might qualify for jobs that aren’t strictly social work: positions as counselors, as case managers, as trainers in various behavioral and social services agencies can be open to both professional counselors, psychologists, therapists, and social workers.
Of course, there is plenty of room to move up the career ladder, too. With experience, you may qualify for roles like:
- Social Work Administrator
- Mental Health Team Supervisor
- Clinical Supervisor
- Licensed Master Social Worker Director
With a license, you can take on micro, mezzo, and macro work without limit. You’ll be better informed and have more weight when it comes to the last two roles. When it comes to clinical services, however, you will simply have no equals.
This can mean delivering direct psychotherapy to clients, conducting assessments and evaluations, or making referrals to more specialized mental health or therapy providers. The art of clinical social work often revolves around triaging problems so you take care of the most immediate needs and get more specific help for anything that can wait.
It’s work that will keep anyone on their toes, but there’s nothing more satisfying than getting a client through a crisis.
State and Municipal Organizations, Private Nonprofits, and Federal Agencies All Need to Fill Social Work Jobs in New York
According to CauseIQ, a directory of non-profit organizations in the United States, there are more than 8,300 human service organizations located throughout New York state.
Of the over 325,000 people they employ, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that almost 62,000 are social workers.
You can find employers of all shapes, sizes, and with commitments to different missions in a state as diverse as New York. Behemoths like CARES, the Community Assistance Resources and Extended Services program chug away with nearly half a million a year to put toward kids and adults with developmental disabilities. Then there are the spirited startups with barely a dozen staff like Girls Write Now, lasered in on a niche and powered by sheer commitment.
The social work job you are born to fill is out there somewhere… even if you have to make it yourself.
Like every state, though, the government is a major source of jobs in social work. BLS data shows that federal, state, and local government agencies represent the largest single chunk of social work jobs in the state. Within that, local government is the biggest employer, likely because of its role in hiring for school social worker jobs. But there are plenty of roles at the state level in the criminal justice, employment, and foster care systems for social workers.
Your Career Options Aren’t Limited to Your Neighborhood… You Can Even Find Remote Jobs as a New York Social Worker
In a field where direct person-to-person contact has been considered a holy grail since the days of Hull House and other neighborhood outreach efforts, the very idea of remote jobs might seem crazy.
But there are many careers for social work degree graduates that don’t necessarily involve a lot of direct contact. And new advances in technology have made it possible to handle even traditional clinical social worker jobs without knocking on doors or bringing clients into the office.
Even in a compact place like New York City, the advantages are clear. Plenty of geriatric social work patients have problems getting around to appointments. Busy foster families can’t always be in the same place as a social worker when both have times for meetings.
Zoom and other technologies were honed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and used extensively to reduce risk to both social workers and patients. They worked well enough that it’s not uncommon to see all kinds of social work jobs offered remotely today.
Travel social work jobs are somewhat related to this. With demand high everywhere, you won’t need to stay too close to home, although you will need to practice in places within the state where your license is good.
Of course, where you work has a big impact on what your job is like, too. A job at a tiny start-up social justice nonprofit may have a lot of stress but a lot of flexibility; you can be hand-lettering signs for a protest in the morning, meeting with legislators at lunch, and interviewing victims to hear their stories just before dinner.
Government roles, on the other hand, may be more 9 to 5. And various nonprofits each come with their own work environment and priorities.
Social Work Jobs Pay-Off in More Ways Than Just Healthy Paychecks
Most of your payout as a social worker is going to have to be in job satisfaction. For many New York social workers, the career helping others is its own reward. You do what you do because it’s needed, not because it’s lucrative.
But there are many agencies or organizations that realize that it’s important for reasons of equity and social justice to pay social workers a fair value for their time and commitment. That’s particularly true here in New York, with some of the highest costs of living in the country.
You will find that social work salaries in New York beat the national averages in every category.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the government agency that keeps the records for salary and employment data for American jobs. The bureau actually breaks social work jobs out into four different categories, and keeps average salary data for each of them.
For 2023, those averages in New York state came out to:
- Child, family, and school social workers - $74,080
- Healthcare social workers - $64,050
- Mental health and substance abuse social workers - $92,470
- All other social workers - $81,550
Of course, it’s also true that there are plenty of different salaries within each of those categories based on the type of employer, level of education and experience, and the location of the job within the state.
You can find all that and much, much more information about social workers salaries on our salary page here.
While the world may not put a high financial value on the work, you’ll know exactly how valuable you are every day on the job as a social worker. Your clients will let you know it; your heart will tell you what’s right and true. And every day, both New York and the world will be a little bit better with you on the job.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Jobs by County in New York
Whether you’re in Erie County or Suffolk County, there are countless opportunities to make a difference in NYC’s social work profession anywhere in these select eight counties.
Social Work Careers in Albany County
Social workers are behind some of the most innovative solutions aimed at ensuring Albany’s at-risk and vulnerable populations receive the services and care they need..
The creation of the Lark Street Treatment mental health alternative crisis response pilot program is a great example of social work in action here. In April 2023, the Albany County Mental Health Department and the City of Albany Police Department came together to launch an eight-week pilot program aimed at providing vital resources and services for citizens in the Lark Street neighborhood suffering with mental illness and addiction, and those who are either unhoused or at risk of becoming homeless. During the program’s pilot phase, police officers were paired with mental health social workers to observe and assess conditions and respond to crisis situations.
The Lark Street Treatment program is just one of a growing number of initiatives aimed at providing individuals in the region with mental health treatment as an alternative to incarceration. For example, in 2012, Albany County created Crisis Intervention Team Training that provides law enforcement with in-depth training on how to respond to individuals experiencing mental health crises. And in 2021, Albany County launched another alternative crisis response pilot called the Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting (ACCORD) program, a partnership between Albany County 9-1-1 and county social workers looking to improve outcomes for nonviolent emergency calls.
These types of programs seek to change the model of care and take the burden off of police officers by allowing social workers to arrive at the scene and help people experiencing mental health crises in real time.
Did You Know?
In May 2024, the Albany Police Department announced a new program to provide residents with immediate assistance for mental health concerns when they arrive on premises at the APD office on Johnson Boulevard.
This program, the result of a partnership between the police department and the Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee to improve community relations, will staff a social worker at the department 24/7, to provide citizens with immediate counseling and referral services.
In Albany County and throughout New York, seismic shifts in how, when, and where we provide care for vulnerable and at-risk populations are taking place, and social workers are the heart of many of these programs and initiatives. Whether your career plans are focused on meeting the needs of children, the elderly, those with substance abuse or mental health conditions, or victims of discrimination or inequity, Albany County is home to outstanding opportunities to become part of solutions aimed at equality, welfare, and justice.
What Social Workers in Albany County Do Every Day
Case manager, outreach worker, counselor, liaison, advocate, activist – social workers in Albany County hold a myriad of titles in a broad array of settings. Regardless of where they work or what setting/population/issue they specialize in, the profession is dedicated to making a positive and lasting impact on the lives of individuals, families, and communities. For the vast majority of professionals in this field, social work is not just a job, it’s an unwavering passion focused on advocating for, and improving the lives of, people in need.
School Social Work
School social workers are part of the Albany County school system, which encompasses about 38,000 students across 12 school districts and seven charter schools. Social workers are part of interdisciplinary teams of professionals that include nurses, psychologists, guidance counselors, and educators, and their job duties include everything from crisis counseling to needs assessments to referring students to community-based services that can help provide for basic needs.
But they’re also part of programs that operate outside of the four walls of district offices and school buildings. Among them is Capital District Beginnings in Albany, an educational agency that provides specialized services for preschool-aged children with special needs.
Healthcare Social Work
Healthcare social work jobs are among the most numerous, given that they’re found throughout hospital systems and in skilled nursing facilities, mental health treatment centers, rehabilitation centers, and home-based programs.
For example, healthcare social workers are important members of the Albany Medical Center, where they work alongside the treatment team to develop discharge plans that include competency determinations, legal guardianship, psychiatric referrals, and more.
Healthcare social workers at Marquid Home Care in Albany are responsible for providing medical case management services to low income patients in homecare settings. Social workers employed with homecare agencies like this are often responsible for providing assessment, rehabilitation, counseling, and support services focused on helping patients get back to life as usual after the trauma of illness and injury.
Child Welfare Social Work
Social welfare jobs in Albany County aimed at child welfare are in demand through organizations ranging from the Department of Social Services to youth diversion programs.
For example, these professionals work for the Albany County Department for Children, Youth, and Families, where they’re called upon to counsel kids in families with parents who might be struggling with addiction and other behavioral and mental health disorders.
Child welfare social workers are also valuable support professionals within the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany’s Prevention Program of Community Maternity Services. As part of the Clinical Prevention Team, social workers here provide assessment, treatment planning, case management, and home-based counseling for families whose children are either at risk of foster care placement or who have been placed in the past and are planning to return home.
Mental Health Social Work
Mental health social workers in Albany County work for hospital systems like the Albany Medical Health System’s Psychiatric Resident Clinic. Here they handle everything from case management to outpatient referrals to direct counseling services to transitional support for patients and families after a period of in-patient care.
They’re also part of the Albany County Department of Mental Health, where they’re responsible for providing individuals with behavioral health assessments, referrals, and diversion from emergency services.
You’ll also find social workers in settings like the Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, which provides care for individuals with behavioral disorders and mental health conditions. Mental health social workers here are responsible for a number of duties related to the intake, assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis process, as well as the development of treatment plans following psychiatric evaluations.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Albany County’s substance abuse social work jobs are found in settings ranging from hospitals to residential and outpatient treatment facilities to community clinics and homeless shelters.
At Urban Recovery in Albany, substance abuse social workers oversee the provision of all treatment services and aftercare planning for clients with substance use disorders. Their duties include individual therapy, treatment planning, case management, client advocacy counseling, and crisis intervention.
And at facilities like Fusion Recovery and Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center, substance abuse social workers are part of multidisciplinary teams working within Office of Addictions Services and Supports licensed programs. Social workers in these settings provide short- and long-term psychotherapy within inpatient, outpatient, and day treatment programs.
Homeless Outreach Social Work
Homeless outreach social workers in Albany County often work for facilities like the WAIT House in nearby Glen Falls, a homeless youth shelter. Social workers here oversee the coordination of services for this population while also helping them reunite with their families and enter supervised emergency and transitional housing.
Social Worker Salary in Albany County
Albany County salaries for social workers tend to be fairly consistent across the board, whether you’re working as a mental health, healthcare, substance abuse, school, or child/family social work.
But there are differences. As of May 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that social workers focused on mental health and substance abuse earned the highest average salary in the Albany metro area, at $69,670, followed closely by child/family/school social workers, at $68,750.
According to the BLS, salaries for social workers in Albany County surpassed those in nearby areas of the state as of May 2023. For example, social workers in the nearby Glen Falls area, about an hour north of Albany, earned average salaries that fell about $10,000 below those in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area.
Social workers who have earned an LCSW or LMSW likely account for the top salaries for this profession in the Albany metro area, while those with undergraduate degrees likely earn salaries that more closely reflect the metro area’s median salaries.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy Salaries
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 1,690 | $68,750 | $65,400 | $77,630 | $91,300 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 1,240 | $56,910 | $51,980 | $66,640 | $79,570 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 440 | $69,670 | $69,310 | $80,790 | $84,590 |
Social Workers, All Other | 260 | $80,010 | $79,310 | $89,730 | $100,340 |
Glens Falls Salaries
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 120 | $58,960 | $58,060 | $61,710 | $74,380 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 160 | $57,100 | $57,270 | $64,580 | $75,790 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 60 | $59,600 | $61,470 | $66,960 | $82,820 |
Social and Human Service Assistants | 170 | $42,560 | $41,950 | $49,100 | $58,970 |
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Careers in Eerie County
Erie County displays its commitment to at-risk and undeserved individuals and families through the creation and implementation of programs like Housing First, an organization that places the chronically homeless in Eerie County in permanent housing. But it’s just one of dozens of programs serving the people of Buffalo, Amherst, and beyond.
And at the heart of these efforts is where you’ll find social workers, advocating and championing for social justice and helping people overcome adversity and issues related to poverty, mental health, domestic violence, discrimination, addiction, and more.
“We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation.”
What Does a Social Worker Do in Erie County?
From Buffalo to Amherst, Erie County social workers are improving the lives of individuals and communities through advocacy, activism, counseling, and support. Their specialized skillset allows them to serve as valuable practitioners in a variety of settings ranging from hospitals to community programs to schools to correctional facilities.
School Social Work
Erie County is home to about 117,000 public students within 29 public school districts and 22 charter schools. These professionals often work within interdisciplinary teams of psychologists, nurses, guidance counselors, and educators to provide individual and group counseling and to respond to crisis situations.
For example, at the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School, social workers support students, families, and staff, with an overall focus on enhancing students’ academic success and overall well-being. They are responsible for providing support by identifying the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of students through assessments, individualized intervention plans, counseling, and therapeutic services.
And in the Buffalo Public Schools, school social worker jobs are focused on establishing an environment that enhances the individual growth of all students. These professional facilitate services for students with disabilities and help them reach their educational and social potential.
Healthcare Social Work
Opportunities in social work are plentiful in healthcare settings throughout Erie County. Healthcare social work jobs are found in hospitals, long-term care facilities, community health centers, and more.
For example, social workers at Fallon Health Weinberg’s Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) connect members with services and resources that address their social, health, and economic needs. Healthcare social workers here help patients and their families understand benefits and community resources, and they develop plans to coordinate a continuum of care that meets their needs and goals.
Healthcare social worker jobs in Erie County are also found at nursing home facilities like Elderwood at Amherst, where they are responsible for ensuring the health and well-being of residents. These professionals oversee the admission and discharge of residents and provide social service referrals.
Child Welfare Social Work
Social worker jobs in child welfare in Erie County are found in the court system and other governmental agencies, and in nonprofit organizations.
For example, they are an important part of the team at the Family Help Center, which serves as a wraparound services program that targets youth in the Erie County Children’s System of Care. Social workers here provide home-based services and serve as coordinators and monitors of services aimed at improving their educational experience and promoting family stability.
Erie County child welfare social workers also work for Catholic Charities of Buffalo, a major human services provider serving eight counties in Western New York with more than 40 locations. These professionals provide clinical services to clients in the child welfare system. They collaborate with the Erie County Department of Social Services to ensure child safety, permanency in school, and overall well-being. They also develop treatment plans, identify problem areas, create focused diagnoses, and make appropriate referrals and follow-ups.
Mental Health Social Work
Mental health social work jobs are an important part of the healthcare system in Erie County. For example, social workers at the Summit Center, Western New York’s leading provider of behavioral health and autism services, have a broad range of duties that include conducting behavioral assessments, creating behavior intervention plans, and providing crisis intervention and monitoring.
Social workers focused on mental health also work at OLV Human Services – WRAP Services in West Seneca, which provides coordinated youth and family-driven care to meet the needs of children, adolescents, and families struggling with serious mental or behavioral health challenges. Working with an interdisciplinary team, social workers here help coordinate supports and implement plans that help youth and families live fuller, happier lives.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Substance use disorder remains a major crisis, both nationally and throughout Erie County. In the first six months of 2024 alone, Erie County reported 105 drug overdose deaths and 106 suspected opioid-related deaths. From mobile crisis clinics to hospitals to community clinics, substance abuse social worker jobs are aimed at helping those with substance use disorder through case management, crisis intervention, individual and group counseling, and referrals.
For example, substance use social workers at Erie County Medical Center provide substance use treatment services that include establishing recovering plans, conducting activities and individual and group counseling, and developing a social work network.
Unhoused Outreach Social Work
Homeless outreach social work jobs in Erie County can be found through a variety of government and nonprofit organizations.
For example, social workers specializing in homeless outreach work for the Homeless Alliance of Western New York, a continuum of care agency for the five counties of Western New York. This agency coordinates homeless services and oversees the allocation of HUD funds.
They also work for shelters like My Place Home for the Homeless. Here, social workers advocating for individuals experiencing homelessness assess client needs, provide support and resources for clients by partnering with support networks and community and government resources, and research and refer clients in areas like health and childcare.
Military Veteran Social Work
In Erie County, social workers focused on the health and well-being of military service members and veterans are found at places like the VA’s Buffalo Vet Center, which offers confidential help at no cost in a non-medical setting. Social workers are part of interdisciplinary healthcare teams that provide counseling for issues such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and even military sexual trauma.
Also within the VA system, social workers provide valuable services for homeless veterans through the Buffalo Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program.
Social Worker Salary in Buffalo, Amherst, and Throughout Erie County
Erie County comes in strong as one of the least expensive counties to live in New York, which makes its average annual salaries for social workers on par with national averages. It’s likely that salaries for social workers are higher in Buffalo, the largest metro area in the county.
As of May 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that mental health and substance abuse social workers earned the highest average salary among social workers in the Buffalo metro area, although child, family and school social workers come in a close second —$67,400 and $64,120, respectively.
The higher salaries reported by the BLS (those in the 75th and 90th percentiles) account for LCSWs and LMSWs, while those closer to the median range likely represent those with undergraduate degrees in the field.
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 1,380 | $64,120 | $64,210 | $72,690 | $82,660 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 1,240 | $56,500 | $52,000 | $66,190 | $77,860 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 500 | $67,400 | $67,330 | $77,950 | $84,970 |
Social Workers, All Other | 190 | $75,210 | $76,770 | $88,770 | $97,780 |
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Careers in Monroe County
Monroe County’s recent wave of asylum seekers reminds us that even cities tucked into the northernmost regions of New York aren’t spared from longstanding issues affecting vulnerable individuals and groups.
Late summer 2023 brought 239 asylum seekers to Rochester, many of whom were children. A large-scale effort ensued, with a coalition of governmental agencies and nonprofit groups partnering to provide compassionate care for people escaping countries like Venezuela and Ecuador, where human rights violations are prevalent, and risk of harm or death is ever-present.
In addition to local and regional governmental agencies funding food and shelter needs, organizations like the Ibero-American Action League welcomed them as they arrived, providing them with clothing, necessities, and guidance on which steps to take next. And the Catholic Charities Family and Community Services is now providing this vulnerable population with much-needed care in the form of immigration case management and employment assistance. Social workers remain a common thread between organizations like these, providing valuable services like counseling, assessment, and referrals.
Whether they’re working for city and county agencies focused on providing asylum seekers with housing and food or for nonprofits committed to ensuring their well-being and safety, social work remains a vital profession in Monroe County.
Social Justice Leader and Activist Frederick Douglass’ Rochester Roots
Frederick Douglass, iconic activist, author, speaker, and leader in the abolitionist movement to end slavery, called Rochester home for much of his life (1847 to 1872) and was laid to rest in Mount Hope Cemetery. It was in Rochester that he published his weekly newspapers, The North Star and Frederick Douglass Paper. He was also a leading figure in the Underground Railroad while living here.
His legacy in Rochester remains as strong as ever, thanks to the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI), founded by the direct descendants of Douglass, as well as Booker T. Washington, the founder of Tuskegee Institute.
Headquartered in Rochester, FDFI is a nonprofit that serves the cause of anti-racism. In February 2023, Fredrick Douglass Books published a Douglass Family Edition of Douglass’ biography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. The organization’s One Million Abolitionists project seeks to distribute one million copies of these editions to students and young people worldwide.
What Does a Day in the Life of a Monroe County Social Worker Look Like?
Monroe County’s social workers, who lend their skills in settings ranging from healthcare organizations to schools to nonprofits and in places like Rochester, Pittsford and Brockport, help underserved people throughout the county overcome the challenges of poverty, addiction, homelessness, and mental illness.
School Social Work
The public school system is a major repository of social work jobs in Monroe County. Consisting of about 98,000 students who learn within 15 public schools and 14 charter schools, Monroe County’s public schools staff social workers within interdisciplinary teams of professionals that include nurses, educators, guidance counselors, and psychologists. Jobs for social workers in Monroe County are focused on providing individual and one-on-one counseling, as well as referrals and assessments.
For example, social workers in the Rochester City School District, which consists of about 24,000 students within 52 preschools, 45 schools, and 10 alternative programs, are part of the Educational Support Services team that provides primary prevention and secondary intervention programs aimed at enhancing student self-esteem, social-emotional adjustment, and interpersonal skills development. School social workers here also oversee coordination and case management services for students and families with collaborative agency and community resource networks.
School social work jobs in Monroe County are also found outside of the school system, at private schools like Villa of Hope in Rochester, which provides academic special education programs that are supplemented with counseling services. School social workers here help youth and families recover from trauma and help rebuild relationships through individual and small group counseling, as well as parent education and training. They also provide referrals for youth and families for specialized clinical treatment services that extend beyond the typical scope of practice for school counselors.
Healthcare Social Work
In Monroe County, healthcare social work jobs are, of course, found in hospitals and healthcare clinics. But social workers in healthcare also work in settings like nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, correctional facilities, homecare settings, and more.
For example, social workers are staffed at hospitals like Highland Hospital, Rochester Regional Health System, and Monroe Community Hospital, where they are called upon to provide clinical social work services throughout the hospital system.
They also work for companies like Waterview Heights Nursing & Rehabilitation and HCR Home Care in Rochester, where they evaluate, manage, and craft solutions aimed at managing the healthcare needs of patients in nursing homes and within the homecare model. Their job duties include developing individualized plans of care and providing rehabilitative and supportive counseling aimed at helping patients restore mental, social, and physical health.
Child Welfare Social Work
Children are an important segment of the social work profession. Social services for this population are focused on ensuring their health, safety, and well-being, whether they’re in home, foster care, or correctional facility settings.
For example, social workers for Monroe County serve as caseworkers who perform a host of duties related to protective services, foster care, adoption, day care, and preventive services. Their job duties include developing plans and making referrals for children and youth identified as experiencing economic, emotional, social, and environmental difficulties. They conduct home visits, investigate reports of abuse and neglect, assess the safety of the environment, and oversee necessary interventions, when needed.
Child welfare social workers are also important members of Monroe County’s healthcare system. For example, ambulatory pediatric social workers with the University of Rochester provide clinical services to children and their families who receive care through the Pediatric Continuity Clinic.
Mental Health Social Work
Mental health social workers in Monroe County work at CHE Behavioral Health Services, a behavioral health company that provides services to more than 100,000 patients in more than 800 facilities throughout New York, as well as in several other states. Social workers for CHE Behavioral Health most often work in short-term acute rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities.
Monroe County social work jobs are also plentiful through the New York State Office of Mental Health, which operates the largest state mental health system in the country. Social workers specializing in mental health work throughout the system’s 23 hospitals and 90 clinics and throughout its network of community services.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Social work jobs in Monroe County are often focused on individuals with substance use disorder. Social workers often lend their talents to city and county agencies like the Office of Addiction Services and Supports in Rochester. They also work for healthcare systems like Rochester Regional Health, where their services are in demand at the Rochester Mental Health Center. Here they provide individual, group, and family counseling, develop treatment plans, provide initial and ongoing clients assessments; and work with other care providers to support the continuous improvement of client care.
Homeless Outreach Social Work
Social workers in Monroe County who work with people experiencing homelessness or those at risk of becoming homeless often work for organizations like Catholic Charities Family and Community Services, Greater Rochester’s largest provider of family services. Every year, this organization serves more than 33,000 people through its 80+ programs and 32 locations.
In addition to providing housing and stabilization services to the community through shelters and supportive residences, CCFCS provides behavioral health services, coordinated healthcare, refugee and immigration services, career development and job placement, and residential, vocational, and community services aimed at caring for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Military Veteran Social Work
Social workers specializing in the military and veteran population often work at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center in neighboring Ontario County. These professionals work through the VA’s HUD-VASH case management program to serve homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness with psychosocial services. Social workers in this program review agreements between Section 8, landlords, public housing authorities, and the VA, and also establish appropriate referral sites for HUD-VASH placements.
Social Worker Salary in Rochester and Throughout Monroe County
Grounded by the county seat and major city of Rochester, the fourth most populous city in the state, Monroe County is where social workers earn strong salaries, largely coming in above the national median of $58,380.
For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a national median salary of $55,960 for mental health and substance abuse social workers as of May 2023, while in Monroe County, the median for these social workers focused on mental health and substance abuse was $62,850.
Social workers who have achieved the LCSW or LMSW credentials in New York likely earn salaries in the 75th and 90th percentiles, while social workers with undergraduate degrees likely earn salaries at the median level.
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 1,130 | $63,600 | $63,410 | $73,860 | $83,730 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 1,700 | $50,230 | $46,900 | $63,470 | $72,720 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 570 | $62,680 | $62,850 | $75,450 | $81,660 |
Social Workers, All Other | 170 | $79,910 | $77,020 | $86,130 | $93,870 |
Social and Human Service Assistants | 2,260 | $43,460 | $39,010 | $51,150 | $62,800 |
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other | 340 | $68,970 | $66,290 | $76,140 | $85,280 |
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Careers in Nassau County
The Long Islanders of Nassau County understand that in order to realize a community’s potential, all people, regardless of age, gender, disabilities, addiction, or economic standing, must be heard and supported.
There’s no lip service here, either. Every day, initiatives and programs aimed at ensuring the health and well-being of residents while actively pushing back against discrimination and inequity are in full swing.
A good example of Nassau County efforts focused on the social good include the Office of Health Equity, a county initiative that seeks to improve the health and well-being of the region’s residents living in underserved and vulnerable communities. The office, through partnerships with community organizations and healthcare agencies, oversees initiatives that help ensure greater health outcomes for at-risk community members here living on the margins.
At the heart of Nassau County’s efforts are the social workers – the compassionate counselors, fervent advocates, unrelenting activists. Whether they’re working in state or county agencies aimed at protecting the most vulnerable populations or lending their unique skillset to private and nonprofit programs and organizations that advance the welfare of individuals and communities, social workers are Nassau County’s greatest change agents for the social good.
Where Do Social Workers in Nassau County Work?
“We have a right to protest for what is right. That’s all we can do. There are people hurting, there are people suffering, so we have an obligation, a mandate, to do something.”
Social workers in Nassau County, Long Island are critical to the county’s many programs supported by the Veterans Service Agency, the Department of Social Services, and more. But the value of social work doesn’t end here. Jobs for social workers are diverse and expansive, with opportunities for these professionals found everywhere from hospitals to schools to mobile health clinics and beyond. Whether you’re in Hempstead or Oyster Bay, you’re sure to find a way to serve the people here who need it most.
School Social Work
Nassau County is home to 59 New York City public schools and charter schools that educate some 195,000 students. Social workers are a staple throughout the New York City Public Schools system, where they work as part of interdisciplinary teams that include school counselors, psychologists, educators, nurses, and more.
School social work jobs can also be found at companies like EPIC Long Island, which has been providing school-based mental health clinics for Nassau County for more than ten years. EPIC Long Island partners with local school districts to provide in-school therapeutic services for children throughout their educational journey.
School social workers are also employed through the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), the provider of special education services in the region. Working closely with the administration of assigned schools, school social workers with BOCES provide individual and group counseling sessions, respond to crisis situations, and participate in the Committee for Special Education process.
Healthcare Social Work
Hospitals, mobile health clinics, nursing homes, homeless shelters… healthcare social worker jobs are in demand throughout Nassau County, in a variety of settings.
Healthcare social workers are valuable members of Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital’s oncology team, where they assess each clients’ medical, psychological, emotional, and social needs to support treatment and the sometimes-difficult transition back to a normal work and family life.
Healthcare social work jobs in Nassau County are also found in facilities for the elderly and aging. For example, social workers at Glen Cove Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation participate in care plan meetings, discharge planning, advanced directives, and room changes. They also work with other staff to coordinate care and services within a personalized care plan tailored to the unique needs of each client.
Child Welfare Social Work
The Nassau County Department of Social Services Child Protection Unit is a major employer of child welfare social workers in Nassau County. These professionals are responsible for investigating all allegations of child abuse and neglect that come into the Department. They also work as part of the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) of Nassau County, which is a specially designed program for child victims of sexual assault and severe physical abuse.
Other employers of child welfare social workers in Nassau County include the court system, the county Police Department’s Child Abuse Unit, the District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit, and the Nassau County Medical Center’s Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Unit.
Mental Health Social Work
Jobs for mental health social workers are found in a variety of settings in Nassau County, including psychiatric facilities, hospitals, homeless shelters, and community health clinics.
For example, substance abuse social work jobs are found at places like the Nassau County Department of Human Services. Social workers here are part of the agency’s diagnostic and therapeutic team that oversees casework services for patients struggling with emotional and mental health challenges and disorders. Under the direction of a licensed psychiatrist, social workers here provide intensive psychiatric casework and counseling services to patients and their families. The work they do also involves providing casework services to patients during institutionalization, hospitalization, and clinical treatment.
Mental health social workers also work for places like the South Shore Guidance Center’s Mobile Crisis Team, where they conduct psychiatric assessments and provide and referrals, and at Mercy Hospital, a 375-bed hospital that’s part of Catholic Health. Social workers at Mercy Hospital are part of the hospital’s counseling team, providing counseling, intervention, and continuity of care to individuals with mental health disorders, emotional disorders, and behavioral challenges.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Jobs for substance abuse social workers in Nassau County are found at facilities like Victory Recovery Partners, an outpatient recovery that provides medication assisted treatment, wellness, behavioral health, and psychiatric services. Social workers here are focused on patient care, performing biopsychosocial assessments and case management and individual and group counseling. They also oversee crisis management, treatment, and discharge planning.
Homeless Outreach Social Work
Homeless outreach social work jobs in Nassau County are found in county agencies like the Department of Housing and Homeless Services and the Department of Social Services. Social workers focused on homeless outreach help individuals and families find emergency shelter and secure permanent, stable housing.
It’s also typical to find homeless outreach social workers here providing counseling services and referrals at places like the Bethany House of Nassau County, which provides a continuum of care that includes emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent housing, and INN, which has two emergency shelters in Nassau County and a soup kitchen in Hempstead.
Military Veteran Social Work
Military veteran social work jobs are largely found through the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, which advocates for benefits and services for veterans of all American wars going back to WWII. Social workers within the Veterans Resource Center are on hand to provide individual and family counseling, drug and alcohol counseling, PTSD counseling, and assistance with the entitlement benefits they’ve sacrificed so much to earn.
Social Worker Salary in Oyster Bay, Hempstead, and Throughout Nassau County
Long Island, Nassau County is part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) NYC metro area salary data. Salaries here are reflective of the higher cost of living in this region, although in some instances, they’re downright exceptional.
For example, social workers in mental health and substance abuse in the NYC metro area earned an average salary of $98,480 as of May 2023, making them the highest paid in the nation. And child, family, and school social workers here earned an average salary of $78,610 during this time, ranking them third in the nation.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Careers in Onondaga County
Gentrification is a buzz word that most people view as a good thing, with old neighborhoods and aging housing getting the star treatment. New construction and new business quickly transform generations-old neighborhoods, attracting wealthier households on the hunt for walkable urban neighborhoods to set down roots. But there’s a dark side to gentrification – housing insecurity and homelessness. And in cities like Syracuse, providing residents displaced by gentrification with affordable, safe housing has become a major focus for social workers here.
A March 2023 housing report found that about 46 percent of all households in Syracuse earn less than $35,000 annually, with most of them spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. And data from the New York State Comptroller revealed 3,611 evictions filed in Syracuse in 2022 – up even from the previous high of 1,151 in 2020.
Housing insecurity and homelessness are a more pressing problem here in Onondaga County than many folks in other parts of the state would imagine. Individuals without stable housing also often struggle with mental health issues, and children often suffer academically as a result of homelessness. While social workers focused on housing instability and homelessness work to provide individuals with permanent housing, they’re also involved in efforts aimed at providing wraparound services that include job training, substance abuse treatment, and mental health counseling.
Social workers collaborate with public and private housing programs, nonprofit/faith-based organizations, community/government agencies, and legal advocacy groups. They provide ongoing case management and counseling services and make referrals to address co-occuring issues that may be contributing to an individual’s housing instability.
But their efforts don’t end there. From hospitals to schools to large-scale nonprofit organizations and small, neighborhood programs, social workers in Onondaga County and beyond are part of the solution to the most pressing societal challenges.
From Crisis to Hope: Inside Onondaga County’s New Stabilization Center
Syracuse and Onondaga County as a whole have been rocked by addiction in recent years. Opioids like fentanyl and heroin, along with painkillers like Oxycodone, have killed hundreds and brought this region to its knees. Between November 2022 and October 2023, the CDC reported an opioid overdose death rate of 44.2 per 100,000 people in Onondaga County – much higher than the national overdose death rate of 32 per 100,000 people. During this time, the county reported 207 overdose deaths – 156 more than in 2020.
But there are major efforts to combat the drug crisis, and the newest operation in the fight against substance use disorder just opened its doors. In December 2023, a new Crisis Stabilization Center, located on North Salina Street in Syracuse, began welcoming patients struggling with mental health, drug addiction, or both. This crisis center provides care for both children and adults, and is designed as an alternative to emergency room treatment.
The Crisis Stabilization Center acts as an urgent care center for people in crisis. Open every day for people of all ages, the center features two separate areas for children and adults, who can stay for up to 24 hours. During this time, patients can safely detox while they’re assessed for future outpatient treatment.
The center, which can see more than 5,000 patients each year, is one of nine centers outside the NYC metro area that’s authorized to provide both mental and substance abuse treatment outside of a hospital setting. It’s jointly licensed and funded by the state’s separate offices of mental health and addiction services.
The center is run by Helio Health, which also operates 13 NY Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. These clinics provide a large number of services that help stabilize people in crisis and provide treatment for those with substance use and mental health disorders.
What Does a Onondaga County Social Worker Do Every Day?
Social workers provide vital services and resources for the chronically underserved, including the working poor, the elderly, those with disabilities, victims of abuse, young adults aging out of the child welfare system, and veterans.
Whether working in major hospital systems in cities like Syracuse or lending their talents to the public school system and community agencies in places like Van Buren, Camillus, and Brewerton, Onondaga County’s social workers are giving a voice to the underserved and marginalized members of society. Their passion is as relentless as their efforts, and their work isn’t just a profession – it’s a calling.
School Social Work
Onondaga County’s public school system educates some 64,000 through 18 public school districts and four charter schools. For example, the Syracuse City School District is home to school social workers who address the mental, social, emotional, behavioral, and developmental needs of students within the school community. They work with families and community-based agencies to provide comprehensive services to students and their families, addressing everything from housing and food insecurity to domestic issues that impact learning.
School social workers in Onondaga County are also part of the Scaffolding Kids Abilities Through Education (SKATE) program, which provides comprehensive education and social-emotional support for students with autism who attend Onondaga County schools.
Healthcare Social Work
Social workers in Onondaga County’s healthcare space serve as important members of interdisciplinary teams of professionals that oversee patient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, correctional facilities, homecare settings, and beyond.
For example, SUNY Upstate Medical University’s healthcare social workers work as part of the transplant team. These professionals provide emotional support and patient education through assessments, counseling and other direct interventions, as well as treatment planning and service referrals. They also serve as outpatient social workers who manage and support at-risk patients and their families in family medicine and internal medicine outpatient clinics.
Social workers are also valuable members of Nascentia Health in Syracuse, where they’re called upon to help patients with severe medical problems and their families navigate preexisting psychosocial issues or those stemming from injuries or illness. Social workers here develop treatment plans and communicate the plan to the healthcare team.
Child Welfare Social Work
Social workers in Onondaga County focused on child welfare ensure the health, safety, and well-being of children and adolescents in a variety of settings. For example, they work as part of the Healthy Steps for Young Children program offered through the SUNY Upstate Medical University within the hospital’s Upstate Pediatrics and Adolescent Center (UPAC). In this setting, they work with patients that include new refugees, those with limited English language proficiency, and those with limited health literacy. Their work here includes collaborating with nonprofit organizations like the Syracuse Refugee Center, the Salvation Army, the Syracuse Housing Authority, and Onondaga County DSS to provide this population with services and resources associated with health, housing, food, and other basic needs.
Mental Health Social Work
Social workers focused on helping individuals and groups of people cope with mental health issues through counseling and referral are an important segment of this profession. In Onondaga County, they work for places like SUNY Upstate Medical University’s inpatient adult psychiatric unit, where they help patients in a short-term, acute, inpatient setting. These professionals provide a broad range of services that include assessment, intervention, management, support, and discharge planning for patients and their families.
They also work at places like Central New York Psychiatric Center (part of the New York State Office of Mental Health) within the Auburn Correctional Facility. Social workers are responsible for providing residents with serious mental, social, emotional, behavioral, developmental, and addictive disorders and conditions with individual and group therapy and crisis intervention.
Social work jobs within the New York State Office of Mental Health are found in facilities statewide. OMH operates the largest state mental health system in the country, with more than 23 hospitals, 90 clinics, a secure residential center, and an expansive network of community facilities.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Jobs for Onondaga’s social workers specializing in substance abuse are always in demand in settings ranging from hospitals to residential treatment centers to community centers to homeless shelters.
For example, they’re an important part of Urban Recovery, a substance abuse treatment program in Syracuse. These professionals are responsible for a wide array of duties, including individual therapy, treatment planning, case management, client advocacy, counseling, and crisis intervention.
Homeless Outreach Social Work
Services for the unhoused in Onondaga County are handled by county and regional government agencies, as well as nonprofit and faith-based organizations. A major provider of services for individuals experiencing homelessness is the Salvation Army, which runs an Emergency Family Shelter in Syracuse – the only one in Onondaga County licensed by the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Social workers here are part of a team of professionals and volunteers who provide temporary emergency housing and counseling services for unhoused families. Social workers provide crisis counseling, assessment services, and referrals to community resources for aftercare support.
They also provide these services at the Ethel T. Chamberlain Women’s Residence and Women’s Shelter in Syracuse, which provides temporary emergency housing for adult women with serious mental health and/or substance abuse disorders.
Military Veteran Social Work
The military/veteran population is vulnerable to issues like homelessness and mental health issues stemming from PTSD and substance use disorder. Fortunately, the VA Medical Center in Syracuse provides our nation’s veterans with comprehensive treatment and services. VA social workers are an integral part of the services here. These professionals screen newly admitted patients and conduct assessments to determine their needs. They’re also important members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team, participating in the treatment planning and discharge process.
Social Worker Salary Throughout Onondaga County
Home to Syracuse, a large metro area with major organizations and agencies like St. Joseph’s and SUNY Upstate Medical University, Onondaga County offers exceptional opportunities for social workers and strong salaries to match.
In fact, according to May 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, salaries for Syracuse social workers that don’t identify working in any specific field of social work earned a median salary of $87,190 – that’s about $28,000 more than the national median of $58,380 for this profession. And the top earners here reported salaries that exceeded $100,000 during this time.
Salaries for social workers in nearby Utica-Rome also provide insight into the earning power for these professionals in the Central New York region. Here, mental health and substance abuse social workers earned a median salary that surpassed median salaries for social workers in healthcare, school, and child/family settings.
The top salaries for these professionals (75th – 90th percentiles) likely represent licensed social workers with the LCSW or LMSW credential, while median salaries are representative of those with undergraduate degrees in the field.
Syracuse Salaries
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 830 | $63,840 | $62,780 | $70,630 | $80,430 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 660 | $59,520 | $53,780 | $70,530 | $81,940 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 280 | $64,730 | $62,780 | $78,530 | $83,010 |
Social Workers, All Other | 100 | $87,780 | $87,190 | $100,340 | $107,660 |
Social and Human Service Assistants | 1,890 | $40,340 | $39,420 | $41,160 | $51,100 |
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other | 170 | $69,750 | $70,160 | $79,030 | $82,880 |
Utica-Rome Salaries
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 270 | $60,700 | $55,350 | $71,460 | $82,630 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 200 | $52,970 | $49,760 | $62,120 | $69,720 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 230 | $74,270 | $73,100 | $80,140 | $103,180 |
Social Workers, All Other | 50 | $80,940 | $77,900 | $86,130 | $95,910 |
Social and Human Service Assistants | 480 | $43,780 | $39,000 | $53,110 | $62,030 |
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other | 70 | $68,650 | $70,160 | $76,210 | $85,450 |
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Careers in Rockland County
Nestled along the west side of the Hudson River, Rockland County has long been heralded for its picturesque views, charming neighborhoods, eclectic culture, and short drive to NYC. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t experience its share of societal woes. In fact, it’s long lagged behind other counties throughout the state, struggling with everything from homelessness to poverty to income inequality.
Case in point: As of May 2023, Rockland County reported that 26 percent of all children in the county were living in poverty, compared to just 19 percent statewide. And Rockland County’s housing problems are pervasive, with 26 percent of all people in the county reporting issues like high housing costs, and low-income housing solutions that are overcrowded and plagued with persistent plumbing problems.
It’s issues like these that spark the passion of the county’s social workers. They’re the muscle behind the programs that seek to provide at-risk and vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities with resources and services designed to fight inequality and injustice and establish or restore their safety, health, and/or well-being.
For example, the Rockland County Department of Social Services (DSS) is home to a number of programs like the Housing Unit, which offers services to eligible families experiencing homelessness or facing an imminent loss of housing. Social workers at DSS provide casework counseling and referral and also address a host of issues related to domestic violence, substance abuse, unemployment, and mental health.
Social work isn’t for the faint of heart, but for those who are motivated and driven by a deep sense of purpose to help the disadvantaged and underserved, it’s the only profession that will do. From Ramapo to Clarkstown to Haverstraw, opportunities to become part of the social work profession abound in Rockland County.
Helping Hands for the Homeless of Rockland Brings Hot Meals to the Streets
In January 2024, a new mobile kitchen set up shop in Spring Valley’s Memorial Park. But this isn’t your typical food truck. It’s part of a new initiative by Helping Hands for the Homeless of Rockland to distribute free meals to those in need.
Helping Hands, an interfaith, volunteer-driven organization, has long provided services for individuals experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. But the new mobile kitchen now allows them to bring their services to the streets. The Rockland Interfaith Breakfast Program provides food service Monday through Friday each morning at the Church of the Nazarene, where they serve about 160 meals every day – both hot breakfasts and bagged lunches.
It’s also just blocks from the transit station, which offers a shuttle to a nearby warming center at the Yeager Center in Pomona, which is run by Catholic Charities Community Services of Rockland County during the colder winter months.
Helping Hands has plans to travel to other towns throughout Rockland County, including Nyack, with the organization estimating they’ll be able to take the truck out about three times a week to different locations.
Helping Hands has a long history in Rockland County, where they’ve provided services and resources for the homeless, including everything from warm clothes to hot meals to access to medical and mental health care.
What Does a Social Worker Do in Rockland County?
They’re serving healthcare institutions like Highland Medical in Nyack. They’re working for city/county agencies like the Department of Social Services. And they’re lending their unique skillset to community agencies like the Center for Safety & Change, a domestic violence nonprofit that provides emergency shelter and services for victims of domestic violence.
They’re Rockland County’s social workers, and jobs for these professionals are a vital component of county, regional, and state efforts aimed at improving the lives of individuals, groups, and communities.
School Social Work
Rockland County’s public school system serves nearly 39,000 students across eight school districts. From South Orangetown CSD to East Ramapo CSD, school social workers in the county’s public school districts are responsible for conducting assessments and developing interventions that improve student learning. This may include individual and group therapy, counseling, and educational programs.
They also provide emergency assistance to students and staff during crises and help teachers and staff identify the signs of trauma in students. For students in special needs programs, they also handle case management and provide the counseling needed as part of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
Healthcare Social
Healthcare social work jobs in Rockland County are among the most plentiful thanks to the sheer variety of settings that call for social work support — from hospitals and outpatient clinics to skilled nursing facilities to home healthcare.
Social workers are an important part of the interdisciplinary teams at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. In the hospital’s emergency department, social workers are called upon to coordinate referrals, manage the pre-admission patient assessment process, and conduct clinical assessments as part of the psychiatric team. These professionals assess patients of various ages who come to the hospital for behavioral health reasons and provide recommendations for treatment or otherwise refer them to ER physicians and on-call psychiatrists.
Healthcare social workers are also part of the Nyack Ridge Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Valley Cottage. Healthcare social workers here are responsible for patient intake and determining the medically related social needs of the residents to ensure their social and emotional needs are met while in the facility.
Child Welfare Social Work
As the most vulnerable population, provisioning for the safety and welfare of children and at-risk adolescents is one of the most important aspects of the social work that’s taking place in Rockland County. Social workers focused on child welfare often work in the court system, child and social services system, as well as the many private organizations focused on issues like homelessness, domestic violence, and child abuse.
Social workers at Saint Dominic’s Family Services in Blauvelt work as part of a Rockland Community Based Services (CBS) program (children’s health and behavioral health). Social workers in this settings assess new referrals and coordinate medical and mental health services with assigned home health agencies. They also maintain contact with clients through monthly contact, attend necessary appointments with clients, and develop a plan of care.
Child welfare social work jobs are also found in the Family with Children shelter system. Social workers help improve access to mental health services and assist unhoused families and those at risk of becoming homeless.
Mental Health Social Work
Mental health is an important component of Rockland County’s healthcare system, as are mental health social workers. Jobs for mental health social workers are found in hospitals, inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities, community clinics, and more.
For example, psychiatric social workers for VNS Health in Valley Cottage provide behavioral healthcare to patients in a variety of settings, from community outpatient clinics to clients’ homes. Social workers here are called upon to de-escalate crisis situations and provide vital social services and resources that provide much needed stability.
They also work for organizations like Community Medical and Dental Care in Monsey, a multi-specialty, community medical center. Mental health social workers here provide individual and group therapy to clients with a variety of mental heath disorders. They conduct assessments, develop treatment plans, and collaborate with an interdisciplinary team that includes psychiatrists, nurses, and other therapists.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Substance abuse social workers are in demand throughout New York, and Rockland County is no exception. Just some of the agencies employing substance abuse social workers here include:
- Good Samaritan Hospital’s Inpatient Chemical Dependency program
- Lexington Center for Recovery, which provides a comprehensive range of treatment, counseling and support for individuals with chemical/alcohol addiction problems
- Montefiore Nyack Hospital’s Recovery Center, which provides a full range of treatment options
- Open Arms, Inc., which provides residential treatment and supportive living services for men and women in early recovery
- Russell E. Blaisdell Addiction Treatment Center, which specializes in the treatment of addiction for men
- Samaritan Daytop Village, Rockland County Outreach, which provides treatment programs for substance abuse, along with specialized programs for youth, seniors, and veterans
Homeless Outreach Social Work
Homeless outreach social work jobs are a vital part of Rockland County’s Department of Social Services, as well as nonprofit organizations committed to helping the vulnerable unhoused population of Ramapo and the greater Rockland County area. For example, social workers lend their talents to the Catholic Charities Community Services of Rockland, where they coordinates services with the Department of Social Services, nurses, social workers, and Child Protective Services through the Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Program. Catholic Charities also oversees a food pantry, community garden, nutritional outreach program, and immigration legal services.
Substance abuse social work jobs in Rockland County can also be found at other nonprofit organizations like Helping Hands, an interfaith human rescue organization that helps people who are homeless or otherwise experiencing food insecurity. In addition to providing those in need with food, clothing and hygiene supplies, this organization helps connect them with housing providers and with medical, mental health, addiction, and immigration services.
Social Worker Salary in Ramapo and Throughout Rockland County
Just about 90 minutes from the heart of NYC, Rockland County is home to towns like Ramapo and Nyack and exciting opportunities in social work. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not provide salary data for the Rockland County region, it does reveal what social workers are earning in nearby NYC.
Here, social workers focused on mental health and substance abuse earned an average salary of $98,480 as of May 2023, making them the nation’s highest paid professionals in the field.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Careers in Suffolk County, Long Island
Long Islanders in Suffolk County are deeply committed to recognizing the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and communities in the region. Suffolk County residents value a strong community and acknowledge that to achieve one, all neighbors, at every level of the socioeconomic strata, must have access to supportive resources and services.
While Long Island’s societal issues don’t rise to the level of those you’ll see in some of the neighboring metro boroughs, Suffolk County isn’t without its pressing issues. For example, according to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, there are more than 6,000 families on Long Island struggling with homelessness. They also estimate that about one in three homeless adults in Suffolk County is living outside, unsheltered.
Suffolk County hasn’t been immune to the nation’s drug epidemic either, with drug overdose deaths here twice as high as those in neighboring Nassau County. Between November 2022 and October 2023, the CDC reported an opioid overdose death rate in Suffolk County of 31.1 deaths per 100,000 people – twice that of Nassau County.
Whether focused on helping people struggling with mental health, substance abuse, poverty, or housing insecurity issues, help here comes in the form of state and local agencies, nonprofits, and other privately run facilities, many of which work together to provide comprehensive services for Suffolk County residents and communities in need.
“If it is true that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, isn't it also true a society is only as healthy as its sickest citizen and only as wealthy as its most deprived?”
For example, Suffolk County is home to county government initiatives like the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission (HRC), which investigates complaints of discrimination and enforces laws pertaining to human rights, fair housing, equal employment, and more. You’ll also find local groups like Community Action for Social Justice, a not-for-profit organization that helps Long Islanders impacted by drug use, incarceration, homelessness, and chronic disease. This organization is funded by grants from the NYS Department of Health and staffed with employees and volunteers who work alongside community members, healthcare institutions, law enforcement agencies, attorneys, and local health departments.
And at the heart of organizations and agencies like this are Suffolk County’s social workers, all committed to ensuring that the underserved have a voice and the resources and services they need to enjoy the same level of safety, health, and well-being as everyone else.
Whether you’re in Brookhaven, Islip, Babylon, Smithtown, or Huntington, Suffolk County is rich in opportunities to make a difference in social work. Hospitals and health clinics, community centers, homeless shelters, the courts – they’re just some of the settings where Suffolk County social workers are making profound, lasting changes.
What Does a Suffolk County Social Worker’s Day Look Like?
Social worker jobs in Suffolk County address issues like poverty, homelessness, mental health, domestic violence, and substance abuse and oversee the provision of vital services to the people of Brookhaven, Islip, Babylon, Smithtown, Huntington, and surrounding communities.
It’s an exciting time to become a social worker in Suffolk County and begin putting your passion for the social good to work.
School Social Work
School social workers are found working throughout Suffolk County’s 69 public schools and three charter schools. Part of the New York City school system, Suffolk County schools serve nearly 219,000 students residing in the county’s ten towns: Babylon, Brookhaven, East Hampton, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, Southampton and Southold.
School social workers here conduct assessments and develop appropriate interventions focused on improving student safety and learning, both at school and at home. They often work alongside other members of the school community, including educators, nurses, psychologists, and school counselors, to develop intervention plans aimed at individual student strengths and social and cognitive functioning.
Healthcare Social Work
From hospitals to neighborhood health clinics, healthcare social workers in Suffolk County provide care for people on the margins who find themselves in the healthcare system here, and when transitioning back out.
For example, clinical social workers at Sun River Health in Islip, a federally qualified, not-for-profit health center, provide crisis intervention, biopsychosocial assessments, individual, family and group counseling, as well as case management services related to HIV positive patients.
And at Brunswick Hospital Center in Amityville (Babylon), psychiatric social workers perform psychosocial assessments, treatment plans, and discharge planning services.
Child Welfare Social Work
Child welfare social workers in Suffolk County are an important part of social services agencies, the courts, and hospitals. Social workers at the Department of Social Services investigate reports of suspected abuse and maltreatment, assess risk and safety factors, and create plans to assist in meeting the needs of children and their families.
Jobs for child welfare social workers are also found at places like Family Services League, a social services agency that provides comprehensive services to marginalized individuals, children, and families to improve the quality of their lives. Family Services League encompasses more than 60 social service and mental health programs in more than 20 locations. Social workers here provide community-based mental health treatment to both children and their families.
Mental Health Social Work
From hospitals to correctional facilities to homeless shelters, mental health social workers provide services to people struggling under the weight of mental health disorders and co-occurring substance abuse disorders.
They’re valuable members of community health centers like Long Island Select Healthcare, which provides clinic services at three locations in Suffolk County. Social workers here provide psychotherapy services and mental health intake assessments and serve as liaisons with other healthcare providers, including psychiatrists.
Hospitals are also big employers of mental health social workers. For example, social workers at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital plan, implement, coordinate, and document treatment for individuals diagnosed with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and more. These professionals counsel groups and individuals and help patients identify financial services and entitlement programs they may be eligible for.
Substance Abuse Social Work
The rise of deadly drugs like fentanyl and tranq have resulted in a growing demand for substance abuse social workers at healthcare facilities, community organizations, homeless shelters, and more throughout Suffolk County.
For example, they work for programs like the Long Island Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence’s jail program, where they conduct group counseling sessions for incarcerated individuals. Their work is aimed at helping those in the prison system successfully reintegrate back into society.
Jobs for substance abuse social workers are also found at community nonprofits like the YMCA of Long Island. These professionals work alongside the program’s full clinical staff of physicians, rehabilitation counselors, and counselors and perform a wide range of services related to crisis intervention, individual and group counseling, and patient intake and orientation.
Homeless Outreach Social Work
It’s common to find social work jobs in Suffolk County focused on homeless outreach. Homeless outreach social workers here lend their compassion and talents to nonprofits like the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. These professionals supervise a team of street outreach specialists and peer counselors and work closely with high needs households experiencing homelessness.
They also work for homeless shelters run by companies like Penates, which runs a 17-bed women’s shelter in Center Moriches. Social workers here meet with clients for individual counseling, intake assessments, and discharge summary assessments.
Military Veteran Social Work
Military veteran social workers in Suffolk County work for the Department of Veterans Affairs in West Islip. Here, they serve as readjustment counselors who provide intake, screening, and assessment services. These professionals provide individualized therapeutic and psychosocial interventions and conduct assessments of veterans in crisis to identify their immediate needs and evaluate their risk. They also provide services related to care coordination, often working with other organizations to maximize veterans’ independence, health, and well-being.
Social Worker Salary in Brookhaven, Islip, Babylon and Throughout Suffolk County
Social workers in Suffolk County are included in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) NYC salary data. In Long Island, you’ll enjoy salaries that far exceed many other parts of the state. In many cases, median salaries for social work professionals beat national median salaries by about $20,000. For example, child, family, and school social workers in Suffolk County earned a median salary of $74,470 as of May 2023—well above the national median of just $53,940.
BLS salary stats in the 75th – 90th percentiles are what state-credentialed LCSWs and LMSWs can expect, while salaries at the median level are more likely to align with what social workers with undergraduate degrees are earning.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.
Social Work Careers in Westchester County
North of the city, south of Upstate New York, with Long Island Sound and Hudson River views, rolling landscapes, and some of the best public schools in the nation, Westchester County is considered one of the most idyllic locations in New York State to live and work.
But appearances can be deceiving, and serious social issues are an inevitable and inescapable part of the fabric of this county. For example, Westchester County hasn’t been spared the deadly consequences of the nation’s drug epidemic – not by a long shot. According to the CDC, Westchester County reported a total of 146 opioid-related deaths in 2022 – or a rate of about 15 deaths per 100,000 people. Westchester EMS reported 531 naloxone uses in 2023, up from 379 the year before.
But Westchester officials, advocates, and activists are hard at work combatting the county’s drug abuse crisis. As a result, signs of hope are emerging. For example, Westchester County reported 1,708 opioid-related treatment admissions in 2022 – down from about 2,000 in 2021.
And there’s more help on the way. In May 2024, Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced that the county would be receiving about $5.8 million in opioid settlement funds (resulting from a 2019 lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General against drug distributors and manufacturers) from the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports for drug treatment, prevention, and recovery programs. The funds received by the county will address a variety of needs that have been identified by the Opioid Response and Overdose Prevention Initiative, which was launched in 2022 in response to the rising number of overdose deaths in the county.
Just some of the recipients of these funds include Family Services of Westchester, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, Partnership to End Addiction, Lexington Center for Recovery, Family Services of Westchester County, and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) County Corrections.
Whether they’re working to help fight the opioid crisis through assessment, counseling, and referrals, or they’re tackling other pressing issues throughout the county such as child welfare and mental health, Westchester County’s social workers are a vital part of local, regional, state, and even national efforts aimed at providing services and resources for at-risk, vulnerable peoples and populations.
“Your vocation can be found where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.”
Where Do Westchester County Social Workers Find Jobs?
From hospitals to schools to community health centers, social workers in Westchester County are busy at work, supporting individuals, groups, and communities in need and creating more positive societal conditions along the way.
School Social Work
Westchester is home to three charter schools and 46 public school districts that educate some 138,000 students. School social workers in Westchester County bring unique perspectives to interdisciplinary schools teams of nurses, school counselors, educators, and psychologists.
Jobs for school social workers are focused on providing individual and group counseling and ensuring that schools meet their academic mission — and that students meet their full potential — by providing support to both students and faculty.
Healthcare Social Work
Jobs for healthcare social workers in Westchester County are found in settings that range from hospitals to community clinics to long-term care facilities.
For example, social workers at St. John’s Riverside Hospital provide a variety of clinical and therapeutic services that include assessment, case management, intervention, treatment planning, individual and group treatment, and discharge planning for patients and families.
Social work jobs in healthcare are also found at nursing and rehabilitation centers like Cedar Manor, where they provide services aimed at maintaining or improving each resident’s ability to manage their everyday physical, mental, and psychosocial needs.
Child Welfare Social Work
Child welfare social work jobs in Westchester County encompass the juvenile justice system, family social services agencies, and nonprofits. For example, social workers specializing in child welfare work for the Office of Children and Family Services (OFCS) and with partner nonprofits like the Community Credible Messengers Initiative, a program that helps youth transition back into the community under conditional release.
They are also found at places like Westchester Jewish Community Services, which works with the Department of Probation and community service providers to give families and young people access to vital resources. The Westchester Jewish Community Services is home to many programs and initiatives that help youth and families, including the Early Step Forward program, which provides early childhood mental health services to families with children up to age five.
Mental Health Social Work
Jobs for mental health social workers are plentiful throughout Westchester County in settings like hospitals, inpatient mental health facilities, and community centers.
For example, mental health social workers are an important part of the Family Mental Health Centers within the New York State Office of Mental Health. Social workers here are part of interdisciplinary teams who provide comprehensive mental and behavioral health services at locations throughout Westchester County.
They’re also valuable practitioners at private facilities like Memory Helpers Psychological Services in White Plains and Sun River Health in Peekskill, where they provide bio psychosocial assessments and individual, family, and group counseling.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Social workers specializing in substance abuse provide invaluable assessment, counseling, and referral services to those suffering from substance use disorder and their families.
The expertise and specialized skillset of substance abuse social workers are valued at places like the mobile crisis intervention units run by People USA, a peer-run mental health nonprofit, and the Lexington Center for Recovery in Peekskill, an opioid treatment program that operates community clinics throughout New York. Both of these agencies work with the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health to provide services to people living with mental health and addiction issues.
Unhoused Outreach Social Work
Homeless outreach work jobs in Westchester County are found at places like Lifting Up Westchester in White Plains, which provides comprehensive support services aimed at people facing homelessness and poverty. Each year, this organization serves more than 2,500 men, women, and children. They run a number of shelters in the region like the Open Arms Men’s Shelter, the Samaritan House Women’s Shelter, and Community Central & Grace’s Community Kitchen.
Homeless outreach social workers in Westchester County also provide services through the Office of Temporary Housing Assistance within the Westchester County DSS, which provides temporary shelter and services to homeless families, singles, and childless couples. They partner with nonprofit agencies who provide case management services in shelters and other residential facilities.
Social Worker Salary in Yonkers, New Rochelle, and Throughout Westchester County
Located just about an hour from the NYC metro area, Westchester County is where you’ll find exciting opportunities to make your mark in social work in agencies and organizations like St. Johns Riverside in Yonkers, the City School District of New Rochelle, and the Lexington Center for Recovery.
While the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not provide salary data specific to Westchester County, the nearby NYC metro area serves as a close indicator of salaries here. Salaries for LCSWs and LMSWs for those in the 75th – 90th percentiles all break $100,000, according to May 2023 BLS data, with those working in the mental health and substance abuse specialty earning one of the top salaries, at more than $189,590.
BLS salary data for the 75th – 90th percentiles likely reflects credentialed and experienced social workers, while those with undergraduate degrees and less experience earn salaries closer to the median.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.