Child welfare opens up many opportunities for personal and professional growth, both within the profession and beyond. Here are a few different career paths that you can pursue:

• Case workers/case managers work with children and families to identify their strengths and needs. They then co-create a plan that best meets those needs, so they can best support the children’s healthy development.
• Child Protective investigators look into child abuse and maltreatment reports, gather evidence, and provide intervention recommendations. They work closely with families, law enforcement, courts, and other agencies to assess risks, develop safety plans, and coordinate the interventions necessary to keep families together.
• Social work assistants and case aids partner with caseworkers to support families and help them access needed services and resources within their communities. They may have specialized expertise such as parents and youth with lived experience in child welfare, survivors of intimate partner violence, and experience with mental illness or substance use. They can support administrative tasks, provide peer support, or help families navigate systems.
• Adoption and foster care workers work with families to place children in foster or adoptive homes, ensuring their well-being. In some cases, they are also tasked with finding permanent homes for children or ensuring youth who can live independently do so in a supportive environment.

Depending on their skills, interests, and qualifications, child welfare professionals can choose a path that aligns with their passion for supporting and advocating for the well-being of children and families. These are hands-on careers where you will often see the tangible impact of the work.

  Here are some important steps you can take to ensure you grow with your career:

• Participate in training: Take advantage of ongoing training that provides up-to-date information, knowledge, research, and insights about child welfare. This helps you stay current with changing regulations and best practices to provide children and families with the highest quality of care.
• Get advanced degrees/certifications: To increase your knowledge and employment options, consider getting an advanced degree like a Master of Social Work or certifications. Many jurisdictions provide financial support for advanced degrees through Title IV-E. Additionally, earning relevant certifications in child welfare or similar professions can demonstrate your knowledge and commitment to the profession.
• Specialize in child welfare: Work on developing your specific expertise in child welfare, such as child protection, foster care, adoption, or family support. Becoming an expert in child welfare will equip you with the tools needed to make a significant impact and will open doors for you to advance in your career and take on leadership roles.
• Seek leadership positions: Leadership positions in child welfare organizations provide several career advancement opportunities. Take training to enhance your leadership and organizational skills to qualify for managerial or supervisory roles where you can influence policy, manage teams, and shape the future of child welfare services.
• Gain real-world experience: Nothing is more valuable than a real-world experience in the child welfare profession. Look for opportunities to volunteer, intern, or work in a child welfare setting to learn real-world skills, develop practical knowledge, and grow your professional network.
• Develop your power skills: As a child welfare professional, you need a comprehensive set of skills. Here are just a few that will be helpful in this career: active listening, cultural humility, critical thinking and problem-solving, time management, self-care, advocacy, boundary setting, communication, empathy, social perceptiveness, and self-awareness.

A combination of these strategies will help you create a solid professional foundation for your career in child welfare.

   
The average child welfare professional salary in the United States is $59,740 as of July 25, 2023. However, the salary typically ranges between $52,627 and $67,989. The salary ranges can vary depending on factors from education, training, certifications, and years of experience. New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York are the top-paying states for child welfare professionals, with salary ranges of $75,590, $71,970, and $70,690 respectively. Professionals with over 15 years of experience can earn $79,414 annually.

   
Child welfare is always actively hiring caring, tenacious and passionate individuals—and the need is only rising. Zippia predicts an 11% job growth for child welfare caseworkers between 2018 and 2028. And social work job growth is expected to be at 9% from 2021 to 2031, accounting for around 74,700 new job openings yearly. A third of child welfare caseworkers work in the private sector, while the government employs more than half. Furthermore, a career in social work may lead to several other distinct paths, like clinical practice, government policy, community organizing, research, advocacy, and education.