Mission Statement
The Business and Public Service Division supports the mission of the College by offering business/public service-related courses and programs that prepare students for employment or advancement in Georgia's economy.
The mission of the Social Work Assistant program is to develop students with the entry-level, assistant generalist social work skills, professional competencies, and interpersonal qualities needed to aid BSW/MSW-level social workers in a range of services that address the challenges experienced in our multicultural society.
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Work Environment
The work, while satisfying, can be emotionally draining. Understaffing and relatively low pay can add to the pressure. Working conditions of social and human service assistants vary. Some work in offices, clinics, and hospitals, while others work in group homes, shelters, and day programs. Traveling to see clients is required for some jobs. Sometimes working with clients can be dangerous, even though most agencies do everything they can to ensure their workers' safety. Some work in the evening and on weekends.
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Nature of the Work
Social and human service assistants help social workers, healthcare workers, and other professionals provide services to people. Social and human service assistant is a generic term for workers with a wide array of job titles, including human service worker, case management aide, social work assistant, community support worker, mental health aide, community outreach worker, life skills counselor, social services aide, youth worker, psychological aide, client advocate, or gerontology aide. They usually work under the direction of workers from a variety of fields such as nursing, psychiatry, psychology, or social work. The amount of responsibility and supervision they are given varies a great deal.
Social and human service assistants provide services to clients to help them improve their quality of life. They assess clients' needs, investigate their eligibility for benefits and services such as food stamps, Medicaid, and welfare; they then help clients obtain these benefits and services. Social and human service assistants also arrange for transportation, if necessary, and provide emotional support. They monitor and keep case records on clients and report progress to supervisors and case managers.
Social and human service assistants play a variety of roles in the community. For example, they may organize and lead group activities, assist clients in need of counseling or crisis intervention, or administer food banks or emergency fuel programs. In halfway houses, group homes, and government-supported housing programs, they assist adults who need supervision with personal hygiene and daily living tasks. They review clients' records, ensure that they take prescribed medication, talk with family members, and confer with medical personnel and other caregivers to provide insight into clients' needs. Assistants also give emotional support and help clients become involved in community recreation programs and other activities.
In psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitation programs, and outpatient clinics, social and human service assistants work with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and others to help clients master everyday living skills, communicate more effectively, and live well with others. They support the client's participation in a treatment plan, such as individual or group counseling or occupational therapy.
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Employment
Social and human service assistants held about 352,000 jobs nationally in 2008. More than 65 percent were employed in the healthcare and social assistance industries and almost 24 percent were employed by state and local governments, primarily in public welfare agencies and facilities for mentally disabled and developmentally challenged individuals.
The number of social and human service assistants is expected to grow by nearly 23 percent through 2018, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. As the elderly population continues to grow, the demand for social and human service assistants will expand. This is due in large part to the increased need for social services demanded by this population, including adult day care, meal delivery programs, and support during medical crises. Social and human service assistants, who assist in locating and providing these services, will be needed to meet this increased demand.
More and more social and human service assistants will be needed to provide services to pregnant teenagers, people who are homeless, people who are mentally disabled or developmentally challenged, and people who are substance abusers. Job training programs are also expected to require additional social and human service assistants.
Opportunities are expected to be good in private social service agencies. Employment in private agencies will grow, as state and local governments continue to contract out services to the private sector in an effort to cut costs.
The number of jobs for social and human service assistants in state and local governments will grow, but not as fast as employment for social and human service assistants in other industries. Employment in the public sector may fluctuate with the level of funding provided by state and local governments and with the number of services contracted out to private organizations.
Job prospects for social and human service assistants are expected to be excellent, particularly for individuals with appropriate education after high school. Job openings will come from job growth, but also from the need to replace workers who advance into new positions, retire, or leave the workforce for other reasons. There will be more competition for jobs in urban areas than in rural ones, but qualified applicants should have little difficulty finding employment.
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Earnings
Median annual wages nationally of social and human service assistants were $27,280 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $21,860 and $34,590. The top 10 percent earned more than $43,510, while the lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,900.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition (http://www.bls.gov/oco/)
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Direct Support Professional
The Direct Support Professional technical certificate of credit program prepares students to become certified Direct Support Professionals who provide person centered values in working with and supporting people who have a disability. Admission to this program is open to employees of participating organizations and to family members and advocates that support people who have a disability. Graduates are prepared to better support individuals who have a disability in their community. Many social service organizations are seeking employees with the DSP certification.
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Eligibility Determination Specialist
The Eligibility Determination Specialist technical certificate program prepares individuals to work under general supervision to coordinate or perform eligibility determinations and other related activities associated with Medicaid benefits for the aged, blind, and disabled. Additionally, eligibility determination specialists may serve as liaisons with community, state, and federal agencies to coordinate client benefits and services.
Although the certificate program was developed in cooperation with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), program graduates may also find employment in the private sector, providing consultation and technical assistance to nursing homes, hospitals, and rehabilitation services personnel and family members concerning eligibility requirements. The program emphasizes a combination of theory, social work procedures, and interviewing techniques. Students will learn about the economic support component of social work, including Family Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Field instructors from DFCS or other community agencies will supervise students at the field placement site. In addition, all students will be required to attend a two-hour seminar each week with an instructor from the Social Work Assistant program in order to fulfill all of the requirements set forth in the field placement course syllabus. An evaluation for a final grade will include the combination of the assessments from the DFCS field instructors and Social Work Assistant program faculty.
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Student Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the associate degree and diploma program in Social Work Assistant will be able to complete the following tasks:
- Knowledge - Understand the history of the social work profession, identify career choices, apply methods and procedures, and support the value base of the profession and its ethical standards and principles
- Communication/People Skills - Communicate effectively through speaking, writing, and listening and demonstrate these skills by interviewing, basic counseling, facilitating groups, and completing required paperwork
- Self-awareness - Be able to assess their own experiences, strengths, and weaknesses and monitor their actions in light of this self awareness
- Problem Solving/Critical Thinking - Be able to function within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems using problem solving and critical thinking skills and to apply the knowledge, interpersonal qualities, and skills of an assistant social work practitioner with systems of all sizes
- Technology - Demonstrate the use of technology as needed in the specific work environment
- Diversity - Be able to work with a variety of client populations without regard to clients' age, class, color, race, religion, and sexual orientation
- Work Ethics - Demonstrate the personal and professional ethics and interpersonal skills that are expected in the workplace
Graduates of the technical certificate in Direct Support Provider will be able to complete the following tasks:
- Assist persons with disabilities and/or others who may need assistance to live as independently as possible in community settings
- Support families and other community members who provide assistance in community living to people who receive support services
- Engage in systematic training and person-centered planning and action to facilitate community participation of people who require support services
- Assist in implementing individual support plans that include community employment opportunities or other valued social roles and perform personal assistance supports that are respectful and respond to the interest and preferences of the individuals being supported
- Demonstrate the personal and professional ethics and interpersonal skills that are expected in the workplace
Graduates of the technical certificate in Eligibility Determination Specialist will be able to complete the following tasks:
- Identify and understand the various practice areas in social work
- Have an appreciation of the diversity in social work practice, including identifying special populations and each of their individual needs and understanding the cultural impact and difference in intervention needs of those special populations
- Demonstrate knowledge of the NASW Code of Ethics and ethical dilemmas that arise in social work practice
- Have an understanding of generalist practice and the ability to apply a generalist framework for entry-level social work practice that includes engagement, assessment, planning, implementation, termination, and follow-up with systems
- Gain knowledge of the normal growth and development patterns of individuals in their social environment from a biopsychosocial framework
- Demonstrate beginning level interviewing and practice skills appropriate for information gathering and assessment
- Demonstrate the personal and professional ethics and interpersonal skills that are expected in the workplace
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Essential Functions
The purpose of the essential functions list is to allow prospective students who are considering a career to be informed of the physical, emotional, and psychological demands related to training and employment in a field of study. These lists are provided to allow prospective students to make informed career choices by providing them with a summary of the physical abilities and personality traits that are generally required for the successful completion of a curriculum and result in employment in their field of study after graduation.
To be successful in the Social Work Assistant Program, students must meet the following essential functions:
- Provide direct services to clients as directed by assigned worker or supervisor
- Provide parent education services and instruct clients in homemaking and childcare tasks
- Accompany case management workers on home visits to collect information and provide services
- Use agency computer programs to input client information and run reports
- Receive and address incoming calls
- Provide supportive counseling to clients in crisis and during routine contacts
- Assist clients in completing forms; obtain information as necessary; explain program policies and procedures; and give directions and instructions to clients so that they may receive services
- Assist social workers in obtaining and verifying client information; assist in the formulation of service objectives and the development of service plans; arrange for the delivery of services; and record cases and summarize services provided for various reports
- Coordinate outreach and fundraising activities
- Serve on agency and community committees
- Assist with referrals and in obtaining of emergency needs through community resources
- Provide childcare while parents are attending meetings or are in parenting classes
- Practice continuous learning through individual study, classroom training, seminars, and conferences
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Program Expenses
The Higher Education Act requires all colleges and universities to notify students and prospective students of all program costs for which they will be responsible. Students will be responsible for the following expenses each semester (unless otherwise noted):
- Tuition ($75 per credit hour)
- Registration fee ($39)
- Student activity fees ($30)
- Accident insurance fee ($6)
- Instructional and technology supply fee ($55)
- Program supply fee (Varies - see course descriptions for exact amounts)
- Background check as required by some agencies for field placements (Approximately $50 per required check)
- Drug screening as required by some agencies for field placements (Approximately $46 per required screening)
- Malpractice insurance ($11 per year)
- Textbooks (Approximately $2,075 for the associate degree program, $1,500 for the diploma program, $65 for the Direct Care Professional program, and $600 for the Eligibility Determination Specialist)
These expenses are based on costs in effect at the time this catalog was published. Prices are subject to change.
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Gainful Employment
Information on graduation rates, job placement rates, median loan debt incurred by students and other gainful employment information is available on the college website.
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Admission Requirements
Applicants must submit the following information to the Admissions Office:
- Completed and signed application for admission and a $20 nonrefundable application fee
- Official high school or GED transcripts and/or official college transcripts from all colleges attended in the past (see General Admission Requirements)
- Valid COMPASS, ASSET, SAT, or ACT test scores (see COMPASS and ASSET Placement Tests)
- Official birth certificates, passports, drivers' licenses, or state-issued photo identification cards to document that they are at least 18 years of age
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