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.
Social Worker Jobs: What Does a Social Worker 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.”
School Social Worker Jobs 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 Worker Jobs in Queens
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 Worker 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 Worker Jobs 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 Worker Jobs 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.
Homeless Outreach Social Worker Jobs in Queens
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 Worker Jobs in Queens
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.