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.
Social Worker Jobs: What Does a Social Worker Do in Monroe County?
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 Jobs in Monroe County
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 Jobs in Monroe County
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 Jobs in Monroe County
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 Jobs in Monroe County
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 Jobs in Monroe County
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 Jobs in Monroe County
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 Jobs in Monroe County
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.