Social justice movements are part of the fabric of New York City. Woven into the tapestry of this multicultural, diverse metropolis, they serve as a reminder of the city’s sometimes-dark history that stripped the underserved and disadvantaged of their rights and freedoms. But profoundly, it’s also a reminder of the victories that helped reclaim those rights and freedoms.
In NYC, activism means walking out in protest, marching for rights, even yelling from court steps and rooftops. New Yorkers were never a quiet bunch, and social justice here is synonymous with large-scale efforts to give a voice —an unwavering, thunderous voice—to communities of people experiencing discrimination, intolerance, and inequality.
Social movements have inspired legislation, along with the formation and expansion of programs and services that offer support and resources to people and groups of people struggling under the weight of poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, broken homes, loss, unemployment, educational problems, disability, or mental illness. And at the heart of these efforts are social workers, who commit their careers to acknowledging, valuing, and supporting communities of people.
Social worker jobs in New York City are focused on the health and well-being of others and on helping people overcome crises, achieve or restore social functioning, and cope with hardships. Social work jobs in New York offer challenging but incredibly rewarding career paths for those with a passion for helping others, easing societal woes, and contributing to the greater good.
A Legacy of Social Activism on the Streets of New York City
These are just some of the NYC movements that shone a light on national issues that demanded to be heard.
- The Peace March (1967) to end the Vietnam War
- The Stonewall Riots (1969) to protest police raids targeting LGBTQ people in Greenwich Village
- The Anti-Nuclear March (1982), a call for nuclear disarmament
- Occupy Wall Street (2011) to protest income equality and corporate greed
- March for Our Lives (2018) to support stricter gun laws following the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida
- Black Lives Matter protests (2014) to protest police brutality and racially motivated violence toward black people
Social Worker Jobs in New York City: What Does a Social Worker Do in NYC?
“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.”
Social worker jobs in New York City involve fostering, supporting, and promoting the social good. Social workers are staunch advocates for the city’s most vulnerable populations, including children, seniors, and those with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. Because of the broad scope of the job, social workers are nearly always in demand.
In governmental settings, they analyze policies and programs to determine their effectiveness. They’re involved in politics and activism, proposing legislation and fostering and developing networks of people and groups focused on a common goal. But they’re also on the streets, identifying people in need and providing them with crisis intervention services and resources. They’re working in community clinics, serving as one of the first points of contact for those suffering from homelessness, substance abuse, or mental illness and those escaping domestic violence and sexual assault. They’re in schools, providing children, educators, and staff with crisis counseling and assessing those with behavioral and mental health issues. And they’re a valuable part of interdisciplinary teams in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and correctional facilities, providing counseling for both individuals and their families and connecting them with community resources.
As of January 2024, the New York State Education Department reported a total of 13,386 Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSW) in the five boroughs of New York City. Yet there is always a need for more in NYC schools, hospitals, the courts, mental health facilities, nonprofits, and more.
School Social Work
Consisting of more than one million students and more than 1,800 schools, New York City Public Schools is the largest public school system in the United States. The school system here encompasses all five boroughs and has an operating budget of more than $27 billion. Social worker jobs in NYC’s public schools totaled 1,951 as of the 2022-2023 school year.
Usually working as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team of psychologists, school counselors, and nurses, social workers provide vital services to the city’s student population. School social work job duties are extensive, although they’re primarily responsible for providing counseling to students experiencing behavioral and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In some cases, they are part of crisis teams that help the student population navigate serious issues like the loss of a student or faculty member or community issues such as gang violence and crime.
Walking Out for Change: Bayard Rustin and the 1964 Freedom Day Boycott
“Let us be enraged about injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it.”
~ Bayard Rustin
On February 3, 1964, Bayard Rustin became a household name. It was during this time that he organized the largest and arguably the most significant demonstration of the Civil Rights movement: the New York City School Boycott, also known as the Freedom Day Boycott.
Rustin worked with civil rights organizations to plan the boycott of the NYC public school system in an effort to push for full integration of the city’s public schools and end segregation.
Thanks to Rustin’s efforts, on February 3, 1964, more than 460,000 students (largely African-American and Puerto Rican) either stayed home or walked out of classrooms to join the Freedom Day Boycott.
Protests that day took place in front of City Hall and at 300 of the city’s schools. It’s estimated that in some parts of Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, absentee rates reached upwards of 95 percent. And more than 4,000 teachers joined in on the walkout, despite warnings from the superintendent and mayor. Protestors across the city joined together and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, finally descending upon the Board of Education headquarters in Brooklyn.
Healthcare Social Work
For healthcare social work jobs, there’s no other region of the country that can compete with New York City. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the NYC metro area was home to 20,340 healthcare social worker jobs as of May 2023, making it the top metro area in the nation for employment of these professionals. The next largest metro area for the employment of healthcare social workers, according to the BLS, was Los Angeles, with 8,250 jobs – a mere fraction of New York City.
There are no less than 65 hospitals spread throughout NYC’s five boroughs. There are big names like Beth Israel Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, as well as the massive NYC Health + Hospitals system, the largest municipal healthcare system in the country. The system consists of 11 hospitals, 30 Gotham Health centers, and five long-term care facilities.
NYC’s Public Hospitals
- Bellevue Hospital Center
- Elmhurst Hospital Center
- Harlem Hospital Center
- Jacobi Medical Center
- Kings County Hospital Center
- Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
- Metropolitan Hospital Center
- North Central Bronx Hospital
- Queens Hospital Center
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital
- Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center
Gotham Health sites include six large centers, along with many smaller sites located strategically in high-need areas. Gotham Health was formed in 2015 in response to a growing need for healthcare in NYC’s most underserved communities. They treat all patients, regardless of their ability to pay or their immigration status.
Social workers throughout the NYC Health + Hospitals system work throughout Gotham Health, as well as in their Domestic Violence Shelter Mental Health Initiative (DVS), Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD), Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW), and Office of Behavioral Health – Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
Child Welfare Social Work
According to the BLS, child welfare social work jobs in New York City are abundant. As of May 2023, the BLS reported 19,360 child, family, and school social worker jobs, putting it among the metro areas with the highest number of child welfare social workers.
Jobs in child welfare social work in NYC are found primarily through the Administration for Children’s Services, the agency responsible for promoting the safety and well-being of NYC’s children. Services here are focused on child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care and education services. ACS often contracts with private, nonprofit organizations to help at-risk families connect with preventive services and provide foster care services to children who cannot remain in the home.
In 2021, the ACS created the Family Assessment Program (FAP) and contracted with five nonprofits to provide support and intervention services to families with youth who are at-risk of being removed from the home due to mental health or behavioral challenges, criminal activities, or substance use. Social workers are an important part of this program, providing assessments and counseling to more than 3,500 families annually. Social workers may be part of the ACS or employed by the program’s nonprofits, which include Children’s Aid, The Children’s Village, Community Mediation Services, JBFCS and New York Foundling.
Child welfare social workers in NYC are also found working for private companies that work with the courts to offer individual social services. For example, social workers with Comprehensive Family Services are appointed as Neutral Court Evaluators that conduct assessments related to custody, visitation, child protection, and criminal defense. They also serve as expert witnesses who provide recommendations to the courts.
Mental Health Social Work
According to the BLS, at 10,460 jobs, the NYC metro area was home to the highest number of mental health and substance abuse social work jobs in the nation as of May 2023.
Mental health services are an important part of the NYC Health + Hospitals system, with mental health social work jobs most plentiful at locations like Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center and Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, and in programs like the Domestic Violence Shelter Mental Health Initiative (DVS), Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD), Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW), and Office of Behavioral Health – Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
They’re also valuable members of interdisciplinary healthcare teams in the city’s many other hospitals and mental health facilities like Lenox Hill Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, and the Beth Israel Medical Center.
But mental health social worker jobs are also in demand in the city’s nonprofit domain, too. These professionals often work with the Mental Health Association of New York State (MHANYS), a nonprofit with more than 30 local Mental Health Associations that serve 54 counties throughout the state, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Of New York City (NAMI-NYC). Mental health social workers assess, counsel, and refer individuals in locations ranging from mobile clinics to community health centers.
Substance Abuse Social Work
Social workers are a vital component of NYC’s efforts to combat the drug epidemic plaguing the city. According to NYC Health, someone dies every three hours from a drug overdose in New York City. Rising rates of fentanyl and xylazine use have created a demand for increased mental health and social supports for this at-risk population.
Substance abuse social work jobs in New York City are found everywhere from hospital systems to mental health facilities to homeless shelters. In these kinds of positions they provide assessments and counseling for people afflicted with substance use disorder and their families, along with referrals to specialized care and services these folks may need.
Jobs for substance abuse social workers are found in NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports and in countless nonprofits and community agencies throughout the city. Just a few of the job titles and employers of substance abuse social workers in NYC include:
- Substance abuse counselor, Realization Center New York City (outpatient treatment center for chemical dependency)
- Addiction Medicine Social Worker, St. Barnabas Hospital
- Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) – Social Work.er, New York-Presbyterian, Gracie Square Hospital
- Therapist/Counselor for outpatient Substance Use Program, Metropolitan Center for Mental Health
- Addiction Counselor, Harlem Hospital Center
- Substance Abuse/Mental Health Counselor, Child and Family Guidance Center Addiction Services
- Social Worker, Services for The Underserved, Inc.
- Licensed Master Social Worker, Kingsboro Addiction Treatment Center
Get Involved! New York City Offers Endless Opportunities to Volunteer for Social Justice Causes
Looking for ways to become part of the change you want to see in the world? New York City is home to no shortage of exciting social justice organizations that are supported by a strong community of volunteers. Here are some of our favorites:
The Center for Racial Justice in Education
Located in the heart of the Bronx, the Center for Racial Justice in Education’s goal is to “train and empower educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in our schools and communities.”
The Center provides access, resources, safety, and power to People of Color who have experienced discrimination and racism and works to create new relationships and institutions that honor people of all color.
The Center spreads its message through programs like the Community of Anti-Racist Educators (CARE) Leadership program, which offers trainings, workshops, and discussions that allow participants to broaden their understanding of race and racism, particularly as it relates to schools and classrooms.
Volunteerism with the Center ranges from fundraising support to outreach to data entry and website design.
The Audre Lorde Project
In Brooklyn, the Audre Lorde Project is a center that addresses the struggle against discrimination and other forms of oppression for lesbian, gay, bisexual, two spirit, trans, and gender non-conforming People of Color. The center focuses on community organizing throughout the NYC area. First established by Advocates for Gay Men of Color in 1994, the ALP has since grown to become a major voice in social justice. The ALP works with organizations and communities to develop and implement programs that address and reflect the needs of the communities it serves.
New York Communities for Change (NYCC)
New York Communities for Change, located in Brooklyn, works to help improve lives and communities and bring neighbors together to build community power. Through advocacy, community organizing, and direct action, NYCC fights for safe, affordable, and stable homes and neighborhoods and against evictions and displacements.
NYCC addresses issues like high rents, poor living conditions, climate change, violence, low wages, and lack of a social safety net that prevent people from living in safe and healthy communities. They’ve organized major events that included achieving a $15 minimum wage in New York and establishing Housing Justice for All, a statewide coalition of tenants. During the pandemic, they help tenants and immigrants receive pandemic relief, and they’ve helped NYCC members win a number of anti-discrimination lawsuits.
Volunteers here can become members of neighborhood groups in East Harlem, Far Rockaway, and Suffolk, where they work to implement and operate food pantries, community gardens, and community education programs.
Homeless Outreach Social Work
Social work jobs aimed at homeless outreach are found in New York City’s Department of Homeless Services, a city agency that’s focused on preventing homelessness and offering services and resources to those battling homelessness throughout NYC.
Along with their not-for-profit partners, the Department of Homeless Services provides shelter and offers direct services through their DHS intake centers. They also provide counseling services for those at risk of losing their homes and homeless outreach services that include drop-in centers for those who aren’t ready to commit to shelter placement.
Social workers focused on homelessness serve as street outreach workers and case managers, counseling people experiencing homelessness, or at risk of becoming homeless, and helping them secure life-sustaining resources and services.
Military Veteran Social Work
The largest number of military veteran social workers in NYC is found in the VA system. Social workers at VA facilities like the Bronx VA Medical Center provide clinical interventions that range from crisis intervention to address immediate concerns including everything from medical problems to drug relapse, and long-term interventions for those at risk of homelessness. They counsel members of the military, veterans, and their families and connect them with resources and services that address their unique needs, stemming from everything from combat related injury and trauma to substance abuse. Social workers that help the military and veterans are often part of interdisciplinary healthcare teams that address a full range of needs.
They’re also an important part of the VA’s social programs, which address the needs of veterans with serious illnesses and disabilities and help connect them with everything from affordable housing to free healthcare.
Military veteran social workers are also valuable members of the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC) which, in 2009, began refocusing their efforts largely on veteran mental health and substance abuse issues. They partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of NYC to create the Veterans’ Mental Health Coalition of New York City (VMHC-NYC). The VMHC-NYC, alongside the Veterans’ Health Alliance of Long Island, addresses the mental health needs of both service members and veterans.
Social Worker Salary in New York City – All 5 Boroughs
There’s no getting around it – New York City is expensive. In a place where studio apartments in Manhattan hover around $3,000 a month to rent and a Starbucks latte is guaranteed to set you back $10, financial security as a social worker in the Five Boroughs may seem out of reach.
But not so fast. In the field of social work, salaries here tend to be commensurate with the higher cost of living.
For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), social workers in New York City focused on mental health and substance abuse earned a cool average salary of $98,480 as of May 2023, making them the highest paid in the nation. The only metro area that came close was Long Angeles, where mental health and substance abuse social workers earned almost $20k less.
And while child, family, and school social workers in the NYC area had an average salary that fell quite a bit below those in mental health and substance abuse —$78,610 —, they ranked third in the nation for their average salary as of May 2023.
When considering salaries for social workers in NYC, it can be assumed that median salaries here generally reflect those with undergraduate degrees in the field, while the top salaries (those in the 75th – 90th percentile) reflect those who have gone on to earn an MSW and the LCSW or LMSW credential.
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 19,360 | $78,610 | $74,470 | $95,550 | $114,300 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 20,340 | $69,870 | $62,610 | $81,720 | $100,300 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 10,460 | $98,480 | $78,380 | $99,790 | $189,590 |
Social and Human Service Assistants | 31,020 | $49,960 | $47,060 | $58,320 | $70,040 |
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 in New York City by Borough
Whether you’re in Staten Island or Manhattan, there are countless opportunities to make a difference in NYC’s social work profession anywhere in the five boroughs.
Social Work Jobs in the Bronx
As the birthplace of hip-hop, it’s not a stretch to say that The Bronx has had more global influence on youth culture than any other single place on the planet. That’s a lot to be proud of. But what’s most profound is why it moved so many people around the globe. It seems the music and culture strikes a note that resonates a common thread running through the human experience for many of us. And it continues to be felt today, more than half a century after the rooftop parties of the ‘70s where it all started. That might be partly because, in some ways, not that much has changed since then… Right now, nearly 30 percent of Bronx residents live below the poverty line, and housing insecurity is among the top concerns of the people who call this place home.
As of 2023, the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development reported that eight out of ten community districts in The Bronx were flagged on their Housing Risk Chart as presenting a high-threat to affordable housing. Hazardous building conditions, high numbers of evictions, and rent-poor households are just a few of the issues plaguing residents of The Bronx.
Thankfully, social workers throughout the borough are always hard at work, helping people of all backgrounds and advocating for funding and regulations to combat persistent issues like housing insecurity. Today’s social workers support the social good and help at-risk and underserved populations through counseling, advocacy, and activism.
Whether they’re helping unhoused residents find emergency housing… providing at-risk youth with a voice in the criminal justice system… connecting veterans with resources and services for coping with PTSD and other mental health issues… or helping school children navigate behavioral, learning, family, or social issues… social workers promote community strength and dignity throughout The Bronx.
What Does a Social Worker Do in The Bronx?
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Focused on many pressing issues like social justice and racial discrimination, housing insecurity, drug addiction, sexual assault, mental illness, and child welfare, social worker jobs in The Bronx are as diverse as the borough itself. While jobs in social work in The Bronx are found in settings ranging from hospitals to health clinics to schools to community agencies to national and local nonprofits to state- and city-run departments, the goal of these professionals is always clear: to help individuals, families, and communities restore or reclaim their capacity for social functioning.
Social Workers in The Bronx Public School System
The Bronx Borough Office of the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) serves 365 public schools that encompass six geographic districts, along with 94 charter schools. Social workers in the public school system here provide support services to staff, students, and their families that include referrals, counseling, assessment, and diagnostics.
They also work for community health clinics like Urban Health Plan. As part of the agency’s school health division, school social workers provide public school students with behavioral health screenings, crisis interventions, and individual psychotherapy.
Healthcare Social Work in The Bronx
From hospitals to community health clinics to hospice agencies, healthcare social worker jobs are plentiful in The Bronx.
For example, hospice social workers for Metropolitan Jewish Home Care provide psychosocial support to hospice patients and their families in inpatient and home care/nursing home settings, as well as during the bereavement phase. These professionals serve as a liaison between hospice staff and inpatient and nursing home staff, and they develop plans of care based on patient and family needs.
Healthcare social workers also lend their talents to agencies like the Workmen’s Circle Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, a rehab center in The Bronx that provides long-term, short-term, and sub-acute (rehabilitation) care. In addition to counseling services, social worker jobs here are focused on making referrals to mental health providers, facilitating psychiatric hospitalizations, identifying residents who may benefit from palliative and hospice care, and coordinating discharge planning efforts that include making referrals to community service providers.
Bronx-Based Child Welfare Social Workers
Child welfare social work jobs are focused on the well-being of children, often in the court system. For example, family defense practice social workers for The Bronx Defense, an indigent defense office in the South Bronx, work with parents who are fighting allegations of child and abuse and neglect in The Bronx County Family Court.
They also work for private nonprofits like Graham Windham, where they work to ensure family permanency planning. Here they work with families to address safety, behavioral, educational, psychological, and permanency needs. They monitor the safety and well-being of the children and document each family’s progress. They also participate in family court hearings, family team conferences, and other meetings to advocate permanency for children and families.
The Job of Mental Health Social Workers in The Bronx is Never Done
Mental health social work jobs are an important part of the health system in The Bronx. For example, at the Bureau of Public Health Clinics, clinical social workers provide on-site consulting on mental health-related topics for clinical staff while also providing counseling, crisis counseling, and extended interventions to patients at assigned public health clinic sites.
They also work for agencies like Children’s Aid, which provides comprehensive family support services for the South Bronx community. Mental health social worker jobs here are focused on providing mental health services for children/adolescents and their families who are part of the Children’s Aid foster care program.
Bronx-Based Substance Abuse Social Workers Have Their Work Cut Out for Them
The rise of the deadly drug fentanyl has created a drug abuse crisis of epic proportions in NYC in recent years. According to NYC Health, between 2020 and 2021, The Bronx experienced the highest number of drug overdose fatalities in NYC, rising 40 percent during this time period.
Substance abuse social work jobs are more important than ever, with these professionals providing life-saving counseling and referral services to those suffering from substance use disorder.
For example, social workers provide care for people within the shelter system of the Acacia Network, where they perform assessments, evaluations, interventions, referrals, and alcoholism/substance abuse counseling services for the transitional housing program. They also educate clients on options for substance use treatment, including outpatient, inpatient, detox, rehab, prevention, and harm reduction care.
They also serve as addiction counselors for hospitals like the St. Barnabas Hospital Health System and Montefiore Medical Center, and for nonprofits like the Doe Fund, which provides support services, housing, and career training to homeless and formerly incarcerated men.
Homeless Outreach Social Work Save Lives in The Bronx
Homeless outreach specialists remain a vital segment of the social work team here in The Bronx. Though The Bronx has nearly one million fewer residents than Queens, it has 41 percent more shelters – 129 compared to 75, according to the DHS. It comes as no surprise that homeless outreach social workers are always in demand here.
Social work jobs in homeless outreach are found at DHS and CAMBA shelters, of course, but they’re also working for nonprofits like the Neighborhood Association for Inter-Cultural Affairs, Inc., which has been providing housing intervention and assistance services to residents of The Bronx since 1974.
They’re also important members of initiatives like BronxWorks, whose Homeless Outreach Teams include a mobile unit that contacts homeless individuals on the streets to help put people in touch with opportunities that could end up turning their lives around through permanent or long-term transitional housing.
Military Veteran Social Workers at The Bronx VA Center
Social workers in The Bronx ensure that the significant military and veteran community here has access to all the resources and services they deserve. Social workers at the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and throughout the VA Bronx Healthcare System provide intake assessments and screenings, develop counseling services plans, and perform risk assessments and crisis interventions. They also help veterans connect with other community organizations offering services aimed at their health and well-being.
Social Work Jobs in Brooklyn
In classic Brooklyn community-minded style, everyone from neighborhood advocacy groups to legislators are crafting solutions to the big challenges that have come with gentrification and the fact that many household incomes here simply can’t keep up with the rising cost of living. And on the front lines of it all, you’ll find social workers putting those initiatives to work.
Initiatives like Vital Brooklyn, a program aimed at creating affordable housing, jobs, and access to healthcare… the Brooklyn Anti-Gentrification Network, a grassroots, community-based coalition that works to limit gentrification… and, most recently, the Housing and Homelessness Plan created in June 2022 by Mayor Eric Adams to create housing in low-income communities are just some of the programs in play to address pressing issues related to poverty.
At the heart of Brooklyn’s efforts, you’ll find social workers — in community centers, hospitals, schools, and out there leading every kind of outreach effort and social program under the sun. Social workers are always there for communities in need, counseling people and connecting them with vital services and resources that address the issues of poverty.
They’re working for the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS), helping those experiencing homelessness find temporary shelter and suitable housing. They’re providing case management, advocacy, and referral services to supportive housing and other community-based organizations like Kianga House in North Crown Heights, a transitional family shelter for young or pregnant mothers. And they’re part of interdisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals and case workers within programs like Brooklyn Community Services, which provides a wide range of services related to homelessness, mental illness, and disabilities to more than 20,000 Brooklyn residents annually.
Did you know? For more than 150 years, Brooklyn Community Services has been providing vital resources and services to Brooklyn’s at-risk populations. What began as a program to provide care for disabled Civil War Veterans and homeless children in 1866 has now transformed into one of the largest nonprofits in Brooklyn that encompasses programs tackling issues like housing stability, unemployment, and social justice.
Social work is not for the faint of heart. But for those with a passion for helping others and a calling to make positive, lasting changes for communities and the people in them, a career in social work can prove to be an extraordinary pursuit.
What Social Workers in Brooklyn Do Every Day?
On any given day, Brooklyn’s social workers are helping people and communities make profound and lasting changes. Their staunch, unwavering advocacy for underserved and underrepresented communities and the people within them is felt in organizations and institutions throughout Brooklyn. From Brownsville to Borough Park to Ocean Hill, social worker jobs in Brooklyn are focused on gaining ground on some of society’s most pressing issues like housing discrimination, mental illness, education and healthcare access, and the many challenges that come with childhood poverty.
Social Workers in Brooklyn’s Public, Private, & Charter Schools
Of the 1,870 public schools located throughout NYC, Brooklyn is home to 925 —nearly half. According to NYC Public Schools, about 2,000 social workers are employed within the system.
Brooklyn is also where you’ll find 90 charter schools that serve more than 50,000 students. In fact, 16 percent of all public school students in Brooklyn attend a charter school. One such school is the Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, where social workers provide student evaluations, conduct diagnostic assessments, and provide mandated counseling services. School social workers are also called upon to collaborate with school and network team members and implement curricula that address student needs and identify barriers to learning.
In addition, seven new public schools are set to open in Brooklyn by Fall 2024, including the city’s first public Montessori school.
Healthcare Social Work in Brooklyn’s Hospital Systems
Healthcare social workers in Brooklyn are on hand at hospitals and other healthcare centers to help at-risk and high-risk patients connect with care and resources. For example, at Mount Sinai Brooklyn, healthcare social workers are responsible for ensuring that patients receive the maximum allowable healthcare benefits while also providing emotional support for them and their families. They work closely with doctors, case managers, and nurses to identify patient needs and connect them with appropriate interventions, including transition of care services.
Brooklyn’s Child Welfare Social Workers Offer Safety and Stability
Many of Brooklyn’s social workers are called upon to protect and preserve the health and well-being of children. For example, child welfare social workers are an important part of the Children’s Law Center, a Brooklyn nonprofit that represents children in the Family Courts and in the Integrated Domestic Violence Parts of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. These agencies represent more than 5,000 children annually throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Social workers here work with staff attorneys, caseworkers, paralegals, and client services staff to give children a voice in legal proceedings.
Children welfare social workers also work for organizations like the Brooklyn Family Services Center, where they provide behavioral health services to schools and community health centers, as well as home-based services that help keep families together and ensure the safety and well-being of children after major events or crises.
Mental Health Social Workers Serving the People of Brooklyn
Social workers in Brooklyn hospitals and healthcare clinics are often focused on providing care for patients experiencing mental health issues. For example, social workers at NYU Langone are responsible for providing behavioral health services such as screening, assessment, and transitional and discharge planning to patients and their families. These professionals manage inpatient referrals and provide psychosocial counseling and psychosocial discharge planning assessment and services.
Mental health social workers in Brooklyn also work at community-based programs like the After Hours Project, which has been providing patients with harm reduction programs that address the spread of HIV/AIDS since 2002. This organization provides participants, most of whom have no or limited access to service providers, with a variety of health and social services, including case management, HIV counseling and testing, and harm reduction strategies. Social workers often assess and treat patients with mental, emotional, and/or substance abuse problems and provide them with nonjudgmental counseling and psychotherapy services.
Substance Abuse Social Work Careers in Brooklyn
Drug addiction continues to wreak havoc in NYC. During 2022 alone, NYC recorded 3,026 overdose deaths. As of 2023, statistics reveal that one New Yorker dies of a drug overdose every three hours.
Social workers are often called upon to assess, counsel, and connect people to treatment services for substance use disorder. For example, social workers at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center provide individual and group substance use disorder interventions and identify treatment services based on diagnoses and immediate needs.
They also work at community clinics like Housing Works Community Healthcare, which is part of the NYC Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS). This agency, which has two Brooklyn locations, is staffed with social workers who oversee harm reduction strategies like syringe exchange, provide individual and group health education, and deliver harm reduction techniques, resources, counseling, and education.
Homeless Outreach Social Workers Deliver Hope in Brooklyn
CAMBA Family Shelters, which has been under contract with the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) for more than 20 years, provides emergency housing and shelter services for NYC’s homeless population. In Brooklyn, CAMBA Family Shelter operates two centers. Social workers are always on hand, providing case management and counseling services for CAMBA’s adult and family shelters.
They’re also valuable members of nonprofits like Brooklyn Community Services, one of the first social services agencies in the country. Social workers within the organization’s Health, Housing, and Homelessness Solutions Division ensure access to resources, healthcare, and housing through a variety of services and resources like the BCS Young Women’s Shelter, a 39-bed transitional shelter in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, and the Transitional Living Community, a 30-bed section of the Brooklyn Women’s Shelter.
Clarkson Estates: More Affordable Housing Emerges Along Brooklyn’s Skyline
In January 2024, CAMBA Housing Ventures, which has been providing permanent and supportive housing and emergency and transitional housing to NYC since 1991, announced the start of construction on a new $238 million affordable housing project in Brooklyn.
Called Clarkson Estates, this newest Brooklyn project will house a number of disenfranchised and at-risk populations, including youth who have aged out of the foster care system and formerly homeless and incarcerated individuals.
Clarkson Estates will include 328 units and feature a variety of on-site supportive services and attractive features like a rooftop terrace, community rooms, and courtyards.
This project is part of the $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative, a New York State Homes and Community Renewal (the state’s affordable housing agency) program that aims to eventually create some 4,000 affordable homes to address Central Brooklyn’s underserved communities.
Military Veteran Social Workers at the Brooklyn Vet Center and VA Medical Campus
Brooklyn’s social workers often lend their efforts to specific groups of at-risk or underserved populations like military veterans. They provide counseling, case management, and referral services at the Brooklyn Vet Center on Chapel Street, which offers confidential help for veterans, service members, and their families at no cost. They often make referrals to the Brooklyn VA Medial Center, Margaret Cochran Corbin VA Campus, and St. Albans VA Medical Center where healthcare social workers provide services aimed at issues like depression, PTSD, and the healthcare needs of veterans.
Social Work Jobs in Manhattan
It’s when the chips are down that New York City reveals its resiliency and steady nerves.
Substance use disorder, homelessness, a growing mental health crisis —they’re all pressing issues for Manhattan’s social workers, but it’s the migrant crisis here has garnered all the attention as of late. At least for now, Manhattan is the new face of the nation’s migrant crisis, as the nightly news shows a steady flow of asylum-seekers pushing NYC’s shelters and social services agencies to their limits.
As of March 2024, more than 64,000 asylum-seekers remain in city-run emergency shelters and in other makeshift shelters — everything from converted hotels to tent encampments. Manhattan is absorbing the largest proportion of asylum-seekers coming into the city, accounting for 38 percent. Social workers are a vital part of the support system that’s keeping them off the streets and preventing an even more dire situation, helping to connect them with everything from housing, to healthcare, to food assistance.
But their work doesn’t begin or end with the current migrant crisis. With any luck, this too shall pass, but the needs of New York’s resident population of underrepresented people are always there. Part healthcare worker, part mental health professional, part advocate, licensed social workers (LMSWs and LCSWs) are hard at work every day, providing Manhattan residents from East Harlem to SoHo to Hell’s Kitchen to the West Village and beyond with social services aimed at issues such as poverty, substance use disorder, disabilities, mental illness, and discrimination.
Manhattan is a place where opportunities for social work careers are never in short supply. Opportunities to land a fulfilling job supporting communities and the people within them can be found in schools, correctional institutions, healthcare facilities, nonprofits, and beyond. Manhattan will likely always provide the perfect foundation for an extraordinary career in social work.
What Does a Social Worker Do in Manhattan?
Help in the form of more qualified LMSWs and LCSWs to fill social worker jobs in Manhattan can’t come soon enough. A New York Police Department pilot program called B-HEARD that sends social workers and EMTs to mental health calls is expanding into four Harlem precincts and more in Manhattan… Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing to increase the number of social workers by more than 500 in NYC schools… and city payroll records show serious overtime for social workers at the city’s Department of Social Services and Department of Homeless Services as they continue to struggle to provide services for asylum seekers.
A Home to Asylum-Seekers From the Very Beginning
Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
They arrive frightened, weary, and desperate, seeking refuge from countries fraught with violence, poverty, and instability.
Through NYC’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS), which is home to about half of all asylum-seekers, social workers in Manhattan host thousands of refugees looking for a better life. Of the 162 DHS-run shelters, Manhattan’s District 5 operates ten, second to Queens, which hosts 44 shelters in Districts 1 and 12. Their work is vital – 93 percent of all asylum-seekers living in DHS shelters are families with children.
Social workers are also integral members of the city’s 17 Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, which are largely operated by NYC Health + Hospitals. They’re also busy making a positive difference in the lives of asylum-seekers being cared for by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
What are the city’s social workers doing for this vulnerable population? They’re improving access to vital resources – food, housing, clothing, healthcare, and other basic necessities. They’re connecting them with organizations that are ensuring their fundamental human rights.
Whether they’re working for, or partnering with, Catholic Charities, the Red Cross, or the NYC Immigration Coalition, social workers in NYC are the liaisons for agencies and organizations where asylum-seekers can turn for much-needed help.
They’re devising long-term solutions and garnering the support that allows migrants to better integrate into society. Most importantly, they help them achieve a sense of belonging while ensuring their needs are met within a framework of respect and dignity.
Social Workers in Manhattan’s Public and Private School Systems
NYC is home to more than one million students that attend 1,870 public schools located in 32 districts – six of which are located in Manhattan. It’s a massive system that calls for social workers at every level. According to NYC Public Schools, about 2,000 social workers are employed within the system.
But school social work doesn’t end with the city’s public school system. NYC is also where you’ll find 18 charter schools run by KIPP NYC – the city’s nonprofit network of free public charter schools, six of which are located in Manhattan: KIPP Infinity Elementary School, KIPP STAR Harlem College Prep Elementary School, KIPP Washington Heights Elementary School, KIPP Beyond Middle School, KIPP STAR College Prep Middle School, and KIPP Washington Heights Middle School.
School social workers are also an important addition to Manhattan’s private school system. The private school system consists of 798 schools that educate nearly 20 percent of all the students in NYC. The Lorge School in Chelsea is one such school where school social workers are on staff to provide individual and group counseling, family support, classroom collaboration, and community outreach.
Whether they’re in the public, private, or charter school system, Manhattan’s school social workers provide counseling to students and families. They are there to manage crises and connect students and families with outside resources.
Healthcare Social Workers in Manhattan’s Public and Private Hospitals
The healthcare system in Manhattan is vast, comprising a number of large hospital systems where social worker jobs involve providing counseling, formulating social work treatment plans, and connecting patients with community resources. For example, social workers within the NYC Health and Hospital System work at the Bellevue, Harlem, and Metropolitan facility complexes, which together include more than 200 clinics that provide a variety of ambulatory care services.
The New York-Presbyterian Hospital System is another major employer of healthcare social workers in Manhattan. Social workers in its three Manhattan institutions—Columbia University Medical Center, Weill Cornell Medical Center and Presbyterian Allen Hospital provide evaluations, risk assessment, treatment planning services, and crisis management interventions, along with individual and group interventions.
Child Welfare Social Workers Serve Manhattan’s Most Vulnerable
Social worker jobs aimed at child welfare are an important part of Manhattan’s social work system. At the Emma L. Bowen Community Service Center within the Upper Manhattan Mental Health Center, child welfare social workers provide individual, family, and group therapy for children under the age of seven and their families. Their jobs encompass advocating for children through school visits, referrals, and interagency conferences.
Child welfare social worker jobs are also found in many of the region’s hospital systems. For example, these professionals serve as Child Protection Coordinators for NYC Health + Hospitals and are important members of the Child Protection Program team that also includes physicians, allied health professionals, and paraprofessionals. In this setting, child welfare social workers serve as clinical consultants in cases of child maltreatment.
Mental Health Social Workers Offer Critical Support in Manhattan
Manhattan’s healthcare system is staffed with mental health social workers whose job it is to spot and attend to the psychological and emotional needs of patients. Problems that might otherwise get overlooked in fast-paced healthcare environments where staff are stretched thin. For example, within the NYC Health + Hospitals system, social workers lend their talents to areas like the domestic violence program, where they support the work of caseworkers.
Mental health social workers also work for community centers like the Upper Manhattan Mental Health Center, where they provide mental health and holistic services to families, children adolescents, and adults.
Substance Abuse Social Work Careers in Manhattan
Social workers work alongside physicians, substance abuse counselors, and peer counselors to provide substance use disorder services in Manhattan. For example, at New York-Presbyterian, credentialed social workers (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor) serve as treatment care coordinators while also providing direct counseling to individuals with substance use disorder.
And social workers at Gracie Square Hospital, the only freestanding inpatient mental healthcare institution in Manhattan, are part of an interdisciplinary treatment team that provides counseling, treatment, and education to patients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
Social Workers Serving the Unhoused in Manhattan
sDid you know? New Yorker Stanton Coit founded the nation’s first settlement house during a period known as the Progressive Era in the late 1800s. Located on Forsyth Street in the Lower East Side, the open household served as a place where university students and other members of the privileged class could live and work alongside immigrants as a way to assist them integrate, sharing their knowledge and supporting some of New York’s most ambitious education, healthcare, and social services programs at the time.
Social workers are often the first point of contact at shelters for people experiencing homelessness. For example, social workers at CAMBA Family Shelters are part of an interdisciplinary shelter team that schedules and completes psychiatric evaluations. CAMBA has been under contract with the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) for more than 20 years to provide shelter services for NYC’s homeless population.
Manhattan social workers are also making a difference through a wide range of other human services providers, including the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, which provides an array of services, including family housing. You’ll also find Covenant House located here, NYC’s largest provider of services for youth experiencing homelessness.
Military Veteran Social Workers with the Manhattan Vet Center in Chelsea
Social workers provide support and services to Manhattan’s veteran population, attending to the unique needs of former service members, many of which suffer with the scars of war. For example, the NY Vet Center in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood is staffed with social workers who provide free and confidential help to veterans, service members, and their families. Their counseling services address needs like depression, substance use disorder, and service-related PTSD.
They also work for the city’s Department of Veterans’ Services, which was created in 2016 as the nation’s first standalone agency dedicated to serving veterans and their families. Social workers here create and operate programs and services focused on education, employment, housing, food assistance, legal support, substance abuse, and much more.
Social Work Jobs in Queens
They’re coming from Latin America, the Caribbean, and some as far away as Africa. They’re escaping poverty, crime, war, and oppression and chasing a better, safer life in America. They’re New York’s asylum-seekers, and they’re a major focus for social workers in boroughs like Queens, which is home to 31 percent of all asylum-seekers in NYC, second to only Manhattan. City- and privately run emergency shelters are struggling under the weight of their arrival, and the city’s social workers are busier than ever, ensuring these desperate people have access to the resources and services that will allow them to stay afloat long enough to make a new life for themselves here.
Two community board districts in Queens —Community Board 1 in Western Queens and Community Board 12 in Southeast Queens—have some of the highest number of migrant shelters run by the Department of Homeless Services. The neighborhoods of Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Park, Rochdale Village, and South Jamaica are home to most of Queens’ 66 Department of Homeless Services (DHS)-run shelters – that’s about 40 percent of all shelters run by the city.
For Queens’ social workers, it’s all hands on deck to deal with this humanitarian crisis, alongside the borough’s other pressing issues like homelessness, poverty, substance abuse, and mental illness.
For these supporters for social justice, there’s no time to waste. Through counseling, advocacy, and activism, social workers in Queens are working to ensure that the region’s at-risk and underserved populations are getting the care and services they need to overcome some of society’s most difficult problems.
What Do Social Workers Do in Queens?
Social workers are the heartbeat of Queens’ social services programs. They’re working in hospitals, in schools, and in community- and privately run shelters. They’re advocating for veterans, seniors, children in the court system, and those struggling with addiction and mental illness. Jobs for social workers in Queens are as plentiful and varied as you’d imagine.
“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.”
Social Workers Serving the 912 Schools in Queens
Queens is home to nearly 248,000 public school students who attend seven school districts and 912 schools, which include 26 charter schools. Social workers in these settings provide both mandated and non-mandated individual and group counseling, make recommendations, and communicate with staff, families, and faculty about interventions. They’re also important members of school-based heath clinics like those run by Urban Health Plan (which operates 12 school-based health centers throughout NYC, including Queens), where students receive primary care, dental, and mental health services.
Healthcare Social Workers in Queens’s Major Hospital Systems
In traditional hospital settings like New York-Presbyterian, healthcare social work job duties include crisis intervention, screening, and referrals.
But healthcare social worker jobs in Queens aren’t limited to just hospitals. For example, in-home healthcare agencies like New York Health Care, healthcare social workers are responsible for implementing community outreach efforts that create awareness of home care programs. And in hospice programs like the Metropolitan Jewish Health System, they provide psychosocial support and other services to hospice patients and their families in both inpatient and home care/nursing home settings.
Child Welfare Social Work Jobs in Queens
Child welfare is an important part of the social work profession. For example, jobs for child welfare social workers in Queens are often found through the Division of Family Services. Social workers here serve as caseworkers who oversee client management and referral for families seeking temporary, emergency shelter.
Nonprofits like the Child Center of NY are also landing spots for social worker jobs. This organization has more than 50 locations (one of which is located in the Queens neighborhood of Corona) and offers more than 100 programs in NYC’s most underserved communities. Social workers here work with children, adolescents, and their families in both home and community environments and provide counseling and assessment services for children/youth.
Mental Health Social Workers in Queens
Mental health assessment and counseling remains one of the most important job duties for social workers. Jobs for mental health social workers in Queens are found in a variety of settings and with many types of organizations and institutions, including hospitals, health clinics, private practice, and community organizations.
For example, mental health social workers at VNS Health Behavioral Health in Long Island City utilize their behavioral intervention skills to de-escalate crisis situations. The in-home mental health outreach services they provide help mentally ill clients remain safely in their communities.
They also serve as mental health therapists for other community-based facilities like the New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center in Jackson Heights, the largest clinic in New York. Social workers here serve about 15,000 clients per month, providing both in-person and telehealth services for children, families, and individuals facing behavioral and emotional challenges.
Substance Abuse Social Work Careers in Queens
Substance abuse social worker jobs in Queens are found in hospitals, healthcare clinics, nonprofit organizations, homeless shelters, and more. For example, they work at the Elmhurst Hospital Center, which is the major tertiary care provider in Queens and part of the larger NYC Health + Hospitals system. Here they serve as addiction counselors who provide consultative services for patients in substance use disorder treatment. Job duties for substance abuse social workers here include diagnostics, treatment, rehabilitation, assessment, intervention, and other supportive services.
Social workers focused on substance abuse also work for agencies like Catholic Charities, where they provide intake, information, and referral services. Their job duties include a wide range of case management services, including assessment, treatment plans, and group and individual counseling.
Queens-Based Homeless Outreach Social Workers
Homeless outreach social work jobs in Queens are focused on providing the homeless population with emergency and long-term housing options, access to healthcare, job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and more.
For example, housing specialist social workers with New York-Presbyterian serve as liaisons with the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), Health and Human Services (HRA), and a number of city and state behavioral health agencies. They work with patients within the hospital system to help them find immediate and long-term housing.
They also work for CAMBA, a nonprofit that operates six family homeless shelters funded by the DHS. Each year, CAMBA serves more than 65,000 individuals and families, including nearly 13,000 youth. Homeless outreach social worker jobs here include completing psychiatric evaluations that assess and diagnose clients for mental health, behavioral, emotional or addiction disorders. They work closely with the shelter teams to schedule and complete psychiatric evaluations.
Military Veteran Social Workers with the Queens Vet Center
Social workers are an important part of ensuring that the military/veteran community has access to a variety of resources and services. For example, at the Department of Veterans Affairs, they serve as readjustment counselors who provide veterans with a course of therapeutic and psychosocial interventions. Their services encompass risk assessment, crisis intervention, and care coordination services and resources.
And at nonprofits like the Queens Vet Center, social workers provide veterans, service members, and their families with confidential help for mental health issues like PTSD, depression, anxiety, bereavement, the psychosocial effects of military sexual trauma. They also make referrals to VA hospitals around NYC for everything from preventative care to advanced healthcare treatments for the city’s aging veteran population.
Social Work Jobs in Staten Island
Staten Island – it’s often referred to as the “forgotten borough” of NYC. It’s the least populated borough and the farthest away from the city. Those facts sometimes put Staten Island lands on the periphery of the radar when considering solutions to problems like homelessness, substance abuse, and social justice issues in the broader NYC area.
But Staten Island is not without its pressing social issues, and jobs in social work here are focused on everything from housing insecurity to mental health to substance abuse.
According to the CDC, about 150 people died from drug overdoses in Staten Island in 2023…homeless shelters here housed about 1,200 people every night as of March 2024… and it’s estimated that as many as one in three people here suffer from some form of untreated mental illness.
Social workers in Staten Island are part of the solution to the borough’s most prevalent and persistent issues. Whether you’re interested in advocating for those afflicted by homelessness, addiction, or mental illness or you’re all in to help vulnerable populations like children, seniors, and veterans living at the margins of poverty, now is the time to become part of Staten Island’s social work profession and begin making meaningful, lasting changes in your community.
Where Do Social Workers in Staten Island Find Jobs?
Social workers in Staten Island are important members of healthcare teams in hospitals and clinics. They’re in schools, in the court system, and in community programs that provide services to at-risk and underserved populations. They’re advocates, activists, and counselors, working for the social good. For individuals with a passion for helping others, social work is the ticket to outstanding job opportunities and a fulfilling, life-changing career.
School Social Workers Serving Staten Island’s 74 Schools
Staten Island is home to NYC School District #31, which enrolls about 54,600 students in 74 schools. Staten Island is also where you’ll find many charter schools like Uncommon Schools, a nonprofit charter public school system for low-income urban students. School social worker jobs in Staten Island are focused on providing direct services to the school community, participating in crisis intervention and behavior management, and providing individual and group counseling.
Staten Island’s Healthcare Social Workers
A large number of social worker jobs in Staten Island are located in the borough’s healthcare system. Working in hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, and more, healthcare social workers are a vital part of any interdisciplinary healthcare team.
For example, healthcare social workers at Staten Island University Hospital are responsible for providing psychosocial assessments, formulating discharge plans for patients, and providing counseling services to patients and families. And at Centers Health Care, nursing home social workers help residents with their everyday physical, mental, and psychosocial needs. They develop and maintain individualized care plans and help plan resident admissions and transfers to other facilities.
“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.”
Child Welfare Social Workers Protect Staten Island’s Most Vulnerable
Social workers in child welfare are focused on ensuring that every child has a voice.
For example, they work for Project Hospitality, a social services organization that meets the needs of people in the community with mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and substance use disorder with on-site services. Their continuum of care also includes a street outreach program, shelter, soup kitchen and food pantry, clinical and support services, and transitional and permanent supportive housing. Social workers help families with children in the shelter. Their duties include conducting formal intakes, making assessments and referrals, and providing short- and long-term counseling, crisis intervention, safety planning, and more.
They also work for programs like the Staten Island Justice Center’s (SIJC) Youth and Community Justice. Social workers here provide clinical services to youth participants from the Youth & Family Programs Department that include intakes, assessments, individual counseling sessions, and support group workshops.
Staten Island’s Mental Health Social Work Jobs
Mental health social work jobs in Staten Island are found at healthcare facilities like Richmond University Medical Center, a 470-plus-bed healthcare facility and teaching institution. Social workers here provide clinical services to individuals, families, and groups in a children’s day treatment setting.
Homeless Outreach Social Work in Staten Island
CAMBA, which provides shelter services under contract with the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS), is where many homeless outreach social work jobs are found in Staten Island and throughout NYC. For example, social workers at the HomeBase program, which provides case management and services to at-risk individuals in Brookyln and Staten Island to prevent homelessness, interview and evaluate prospective clients, connect clients to available resources, prepare and submit applications for benefits and entitlements, and ensure housing needs are met.
Substance Abuse Social Workers Save Lives in Staten Island
Substance abuse continues to be a major health and social issue affecting thousands of Staten Islanders. Substance abuse social work jobs are found at nonprofits like Community Health Action, which is home to a 24-hour substance use recovery center. Some of the duties of social workers here include providing case management services, including referrals to public assistance, food/shelter needs, medical, transportation, mental health, and substance use assistance.
They also work for state agencies like the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), which oversees one of the largest substance use disorder programs in the nation. The OASAS is home to about 1,700 programs that serve more than 730,000 people every year. Social workers for the OASAS often work through one of the program’s 12 addiction treatment centers that provide inpatient and residential services to about 8,000 people each year.
Military Veteran Social Workers with the Staten Island Vet Center
Social workers often focus their work on the military/veteran community, working out of the Staten Island Vet Center on Bay Street. You’ll also find social workers supporting the long-term case management needs of veterans through the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit in Staten Island that’s committed to eradicating homelessness among veterans. They ensure that recipients receive assistance as they navigate the intake and acceptance process. They also address any immediate psychosocial needs to determine if recipients need additional supports, resources, mental health services, or other therapeutic interventions.