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50 Ways Social Workers Are Changing the World

When people face challenges, social workers step in to find solutions.

Social workers help children succeed in school. They devise policies to address critical human needs. They provide support to members of the armed forces and their families.

They teach. They care.

50 Ways Social Workers Are Changing the World

The federal government has designated March as National Social Work Month, a time to honor the myriad life-changing contributions of those who pursue social work careers. 

“Social work is … a profession that allows people across many generations to make a profound, positive impact on the lives of millions of people each and every day,” explains the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). “You will find social workers from the silent generation and baby boomers to Generation Z who are doing the hard, often unsung work to make our nation and the world a better place.”1

Walden University works with a broad range of hardworking individuals as well, offering online bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs to help prepare them for impactful social work careers. Walden is committed to empowering the greater good, a founding principle that continues to guide our accredited university in its endeavors. To that end, Walden is shining a light on the innovators, change agents, and advocates who are driving change. Today, Walden salutes and celebrates social workers by sharing 50 of the ways they are changing the world.

What do social workers do? Social workers:

  • Help children find homes.
  • Prevent students from dropping out of school.
  • Provide one-on-one psychotherapy services.
  • Help formerly incarcerated individuals transition back into their communities.
  • Intervene to protect children from abuse or neglect.
  • Provide parent education.
  • Lead group, family, and couples therapy.
  • Help clients cope with life challenges such as divorce or illness.
  • Support clients receiving palliative or hospice care.
  • Help students thrive in school.
  • Lead educational workshops in communities.
  • Help families find temporary housing.
  • Coordinate post-hospital care for patients.
  • Find foster home placements for children and teens.
  • Mediate conflicts in families, schools, work settings, and more.
  • Contribute new social work knowledge through research.
  • Help students adjust to the college environment.
  • Assess students’ psychosocial and emotional needs.
  • Teach and train other MSWs through in-service workshops.
  • Serve as policy analysts for the U.S. Department of Justice.
  • Work with individuals in recovery for addiction.
  • Help clients access Social Security benefits.
  • Support members of the armed forces and military families.
  • Write grants.
  • Lead support groups.
  • Serve as expert witnesses in court cases.
  • Interact with children through play therapy.
  • Help create forever families through adoption.
  • Run organizational training programs.
  • Guide clients through life span planning.
  • Devise policy for U.S. government programs.
  • Find safe havens for victims of domestic violence.
  • Operate community youth programs.
  • Help create productive and morale-boosting work environments.
  • Serve as patient advocates.
  • Provide bereavement counseling.
  • Help clients find food assistance through programs like SNAP and Meals on Wheels.
  • Keep clients mobile by linking them with transportation services.
  • Steer clients to job-training programs.
  • Help people with disabilities live fuller lives.
  • Lead social service agencies.
  • Provide trauma counseling.
  • Teach at accredited online colleges and universities.
  • Help train law enforcement officers.
  • Lead HIV/AIDS education forums.
  • Work with individuals and families in refugee camps.
  • Serve as community organizers and advocates.
  • Help older adults continue to live independently.
  • Teach clients how to manage chronic health conditions.
  • Supervise and mentor other social workers.

How will you change the world? Start with a degree from Walden, whose comprehensive programs empower all types of social workers to forge meaningful careers. Walden’s online Master of Social Work (MSW) and Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) programs have Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation. And Walden’s advanced degree options include a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program, one of the few of its kind offered online, and a PhD in Social Work.

Choose your social work degree and join Walden as it heads into its next half-century empowering thegreater good.

Walden University is an accredited institution offering multiple social worker degrees, including an online Master of Social Work (MSW) degree program. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient online format that fits your busy life.


1Source: www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=bBiPMKUSo_M%3d&portalid=0

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.

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