This interview was completed by: Eileen Walsh, Community Support Specialist for BJC Behavioral Health in Kirkwood,

MO Email: emw_7@hotmail.com Cell phone #: 314-305-5976

1. Would I travel? How often? All social work jobs that I have had required travel. Most agencies will have you use your own vehicle even to transport clients. I work at BJC Behavioral Health and they require a Class E (chauffers license) and a minimum coverage through your personal care insurance. They do pay mileage (mostly the minimum federal limit which is 56 cents per mile, if Im not mistaken) Most agencies to have one or two agency cars that can be difficult to sign out on a regular basis. There may be one day a week to stay in the office as back up coverage in case there is a crisis or a client needs to talk to someone right away. I usually count on getting out of the office every day otherwise. Ive never been expected to transport someone if I felt uncomfortable about it or felt unsafe. It is always encouraged for clients to access their own transportation when possible to increase independence (and save the agency money). 2. Would I sit all day? Stand? Get out of the office? Most all times I leave the office I am with a client in the community, their home, hospital, doctor appointments, etc. Most agency policies tell workers not to sit on upholstered furniture in a clients home due to spread of bed bugs. We deal with mostly low income clients that may not have the resources or funds to treat possible pest problems in their homes. Not all clients have this problem. One of the things I love about my job is that I get to go out of the office for most of the day. Most agencies with social workers (Child Welfare, Mental Health, etc.) have them out in the community expecting at least 80% of their work be spent there. I have never worked at a hospital, nursing home, etc but Id imagine they would still have some travel. 3. Do I have the ample opportunity to relocate to any number of states I choose? I speak from personal experience with this question. I have worked in Missouri in mental health, Tennessee in mental health and Ohio in child welfare and mental health. Some states differ in whats required to work in mental health/health care. In Missouri and Tennessee it was only required to have a bachelors or Masters degree (depending on the job) to work in mental health. Ohio required any bachelors level jobs in mental health to have a bachelors level social work license through the state (LSW *in MO its an LBSW+). I have an Ohio LSW and am working on transferring my license to Missouri. To initially get a license there are several fees and a test but it has been worth it. Most Masters level social workers have masters level licenses which is usually required to do any masters level social

work. In mental health Masters level workers are qualified to work clinically with the clients, make diagnoses, etc. 4. If the job is available only in government agencies, am I able to function in a bureaucracy? The only job I have had with a government agency is with child welfare in the state of Ohio. As social workers we did not get much say so as to the rules of the job, how much contact with clients was required or anything else for that matter. Maybe this is a personal opinion but I felt that our main goal was to follow the rules set by the state in how we conducted our jobs. Agency money is lost when sometimes even simple and honest mistakes are made. It happens to anyone that has been a caseworker so there is a realm of understanding. (I hope this answers some of your question.) 5. Are the hours regular or irregular? Long or short? The hours worked depends often on the type of social work job and the agency for which one works. I currently work at BJC Behavioral Health at Kirkwoods site as a Community Support Specialist (bachelors level job). The hours are 8:30am-5:00pm. BJC Behavioral Health has a separate on call staff for client emergencies after hours so the caseworkers during the day dont have to be on call. When I worked in child welfare we had an on call rotation which meant at the time we were on call we had to be available at any time during our rotation for an emergency (rotation was usually one week a month where I worked). We were given pagers where clients, concerned reporters, law enforcement, etc could contact a worker immediately. The regular office hours there were 8:00am-4:30pm. I have had some days Ive had to work several hours past my usual to assist a client in a crisis tha t may have started during my usual hours and to see it through. Most employers have been very helpful if the crisis got too overwhelming. If I was out too late I could come in later the next day to not get too exhausted. 6. Would you work weekends, evenings or holidays? Weekends, holidays and things like that Ive only worked when I was on call. Even then we would meet with supervisor and staff to divvy out who covers what holidays to make it work well for everyone. I have worked for good supervisors and agencies who have truly taken our personal lives into consideration. It may be different for a social worker who works at an inpatient hospital but Im sure they alternate certain holidays to be fair to their staff. A lot may also depend on seniority, such as the workers who have been there the longest pick which holiday they want off. 7. How many job openings are expected annually? Im not sure I could give you a number of annual positions that are annually available. It is common to see social workers leave a job after 2-3 years due to stress and burn out. Some agencies are revolving doors for social workers. I have especially seen this in child welfare. 8. Does it have a fast, average or slow rate of growth? I have come to find the rate of growth in any agency depends greatly on state and federal funding. This will lead me to partially answer question 16. Many agencies experience hiring freezes due to the economy and lack of funding and revenue. If workers dont document

their time with clients correctly or there simply isnt enough funding they cant hire more workers. Somehow the higher ups can work through it and start hiring again. Some places may not be able to do that. This can lead to overwhelmed workers and high turnover. 9. What kind of high school or college program is required? I have a Bachelors degree in social work. Many in my field have Bachelors degrees in psychology or other related fields. When I worked in Ohio and required an LSW to work in mental health it was required to have a bachelors in social work to get and LSW. Its the same in Missouri but they call in an LBSW (Licensed Bachelor Social Worker). Masters level social workers usually require and LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker). There are other levels of licenses with Masters degree workers which dictate what clinical work can be performed. Counseling, substance abuse counseling and many other health fields use Masters level social workers with an LCSW. Substance abuse has a separate license required to work in that field. It can depend on what field. 10. What proportion of workers are promoted? At my current job in BJC there are more opportunities to be promoted within your education level. For instance, someone in my positions (community support specialist) can become a lead community support specialist after a certain number of years and performance review. To make more money in this agency and move up usually a Masters degree and LCSW is required to become a Case Manager. CMs deal with a different level of care and are qualified to complete more assessments that a CSS cannot. 11. How could I rise in the field? Get a Masters degree in social work or the highest degree you can attain. This is what I can do to move up in my field. The more education you have the more you can move up. Experience is beneficial, for sure, but I have come to find that the degree is what most employers look for. I have been a social worker since 2005. I still have a bachelors degree. I have found that my experience as a bachelors level worker has helped me know what fields I do and dont want to work. I want to get a masters and continue with mental health. I cannot see myself in substance abuse counseling. Just an example. 12. Would I need another type of work experience? I havent noticed any other type of work experience is required in social work. I have come to find many employers look for experience in general but you cant get experience without getting experience. Any volunteer work you can find while getting your degree is considered experience. I would suggest finding volunteer work in whatever field sparks your interest; mental health, hospital setting, nursing homes, domestic violence services, homeless shelters, etc. They always look for free help and it can give you an idea of what can be expected in that field. 13. What employee benefits are usual with this occupation? I have worked full time in all my social work positions. Some benefits can depend on whether you are full time or part time. The jobs Ive had include health benefits, life insurance, short term disability (sometimes you may have to pay extra per pay period but usually not much, only if you want it). Health benefits can differ greatly from agency to agency. Depends on what insurance company they carry. Vacation and sick time is earned

each pay period (most pay periods are every two weeks). I have to say BJC has had the best benefits, health coverage, discounts at certain stores, gyms (Sherwin Williams, Weight Watchers, Golds Gym, Sprint, ATT, etc.) BJC also has an employee assistance program which offers counseling to their workers. This can be a stressful job where you are exposed to many stressful situations, clients begging for help you cant give or listening to their life stories. Its important to me to work at a place that will help when Im overwhelmed and ask for help and get along well with my co-workers. Were all in the same boat here and try to help each other out. 14. Are bonuses given for superior performance? BJC offers bonuses for exceeded expected work, hours spent with clients, service awards, timely paperwork completed. There are increasingly less financial bonuses at agencies for social workers due to the economy and lack of funding. They usually try to give some recognition, gift cards, etc. 15. Do I have a reasonable chance to find a job in this field? I think there are many opportunities to find work in this field. Like I said earlier, revolving doors are not uncommon. Its more difficult to find positions in rural areas than in city areas. City areas usually have more resources and they are centralized. I have found more job notices online (monster jobs, career builder, indeed jobs, state job websites) that look for Masters Social Workers with LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) than Bachelors Social Workers but they are out there. 16. Is this occupation strongly affected by swings in the economy? Absolutely affected by the economy. That being said the economy has placed more and more people in need of services such as food stamps, health insurance, medical care, mental health care and other assistance. Thats where social workers come in to manage all of these cases and make sure that state and federal funds are being properly used. The governments main goal in these types of services is to meet the clients needs by spending the least amount of money. Some clients are low functioning and have difficulty completing all the paperwork to get assistance they need. Educated social workers are used to help these people to generally support the value of human life.