What are the educational requirements to become a social worker in an adoption agency?

How do I become a Social Worker?

• I want to become a Social Worker in Case Management at Community Residential Houses (which is a shelter) in California. I want to work at an agency called CPAF (Center for the Pacific Asian Families). I really want to help people who are having difficulties in their lives and support them as much as I can. I speak perfect Korean and English, and also some Spanish. I'm taking Spanish for three years (this is my third year). By the way I'm a junior at high school. I can understand most of them, but I can't speak as much as I understand it. I want to know how to become a Social Worker in Case Management at Residential Houses to advocate clients. So here are some questions that I want to know. Please answer them IN DETAILS. 1). How can I become a Social worker in Case Management to work at the Community Residential Houses (a shelter)? 2). How do I achieve a Bachelor's Degree, and what is it actually? 3). How is (in what ways) speaking more than one language advantages to become a Social Worker? 4). How can I apply for internships or to work at the agency (CPAF) I want? 5). I know I have to go to college and take psycology as a major, but what else do I have to do? Thank You^^

• Answer:

  A Bathchelors degree is a 4 year degree from an accredited college or university. Best fields to major (the main concentration of your study) in are social work (if that major is offered where you go to college), social sciences (sociology, psychology), education. You will probably want a minor (secondary concentration of study) in an Asian Pacific language. You get the degree by going to college and taking the coursework the college requires. They will have a standard plan that you can vary somewhat. This is to both learn the basic information you need to do social work related jobs and to show that you have learned to learn. The net step is to do one of three things. Either get a social work related job like caseworker, casework assistant, residence manager, etc. and get some experience in the field and see if your employer will pay for your MSW studies. (MSW = Master's in Social Work and is the degree after a Batchelors needed to become an accredited social worker) or teach for a year or a few years to pay off student loans and gain experience in working with children which can be useful in working in a family shelter or immediately after college go on to an accredited school of social work to earn the MSW. A lot of this decision will depend on your finances, how good your grades have been and whether you are ready for another 2 years of school or need a break. Knowing a language and being able to easily express yourself and understand helps you talk to and listen to people who do not speak English well. People are usually much more comfortable if they can talk to you directly than if they have to talk to an interpreter who tells you what they said. Another very helpful thing to do is to contact Center for the Pacific Asian Families www.pacsla.org/ and tell them that is your career goal and ask about ways you can help now as a volunteer. That might be tutoring younger children, making posters, collecting clothes or school supplies for children whose families they help etc. They are the best ones to give you specific information on working for them and what is required and their getting to know you now as a volunteer helper will help make a more open door to a job with them later on