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Child Welfare and School Social Work Placements

Students who anticipate employment as a school social worker or having a field placement in a Department of Social Services (DSS) as a child protection investigator should note the following requirements:

School Social Work

School social work practice in North Carolina requires a license granted by the state Department of Education. In order to obtain a license, a student must have a degree in social work from a university program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, must have completed a school social work course (SOCW 304), and must have satisfactorily completed an internship in a school setting. For additional information, contact Linda R. Williams, Social Work Department, at North Carolina State University.

Students can have a field placement in a school setting without having taken the school social work course. However, in order to be employed, the student must take the course, either during the field placement, after graduation, or must take an online course in school social work offered by North Carolina State University.

Child Welfare

Students must take SOCW 426: "Child Welfare" and complete a supplemental workshop in order to have a field placement as a child protective service worker. The course and the workshop, along with the CPS internship, will satisfy NC state law that mandates 72 hours of pre-service training before any child protection work can be done. Students who complete a field placement as a child protection worker are usually given priority for employment.

Students may be employed as child welfare workers by Departments of Social Services without doing a field placement and without taking SOCW 426 as long as they have a bachelor’s degree. However, they may be employed at a lower level than students who have completed the child welfare course, the workshop and the internship.