Youth Specialist Job Description

The Salary of Social Workers: A Survey

As a youth specialist, you have to make sure that children receive the proper medical and psychological care, and that their home lives are healthy. Who employs you can affect how you help the children. If you were a youth specialist in a juvenile facility, you could be removing children from a bad home, placing them in a good one, or getting them medical care or counseling.

Communication is an essential skill for a youth specialist, and you must communicate with both children and their parents. You need time management skills to coordinate your schedules for the children's support services. You need to have planning skills to care for children.

Solid organizational skills allow you to keep your records in order. Some positions may require a valid driver's license so that you can travel to clients or transport children. The organization or agency that employs you will determine how you accomplish your job as a youth specialist.

You can work with the government, a private organization or a local government agency to help teen mothers, interview prospective adoptive parents, or you can be a social worker with a local government agency. You can also work with a nonprofit agency that helps at-risk youth avoid trouble, or in a juvenile detention center to help kids learn how to function in society after their release. You may be hired to handle teen pregnancies.

Many youth specialists are social workers, so the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not report salaries for them. The average wage for social workers was $46,180 in May of this year. Schools and psychiatric and abuse hospitals were some of the top paying employers of social workers.

A Master Degree in Social Work

Youth social workers are usually part of an interdisciplinary team that helps improve the quality of life of the child. Social workers can be found in schools, courts, community centers, hospitals and private practice. A master degree is considered the terminal degree for practice in the field of social work.

Social work students interested in working with youth will usually seek courses that focus on child and family services. Social workers are supposed to protect children from harm. They help protect children who are at risk for abuse or neglect, children with mental health or medical needs, and children who are without parents or family.

They support at risk families in order to provide a stable home for their children. Advocacy is an aspect of protection and support for children. Social workers are the primary advocates for children and their families in the youth welfare system.

Advocacy involves seeking out supports and resources. Advocacy also includes teaching children and their families how to find, access and use community resources so that they can become self-sufficient and begin to advocate for themselves. Youth social workers work with children and young people who are struggling with issues such as health and educational issues.

The role is to intervene early with issues before they get out of hand, which may lead to problems with social and educational development. Voluntary involvement with a youth social worker is when the child and their family agree to participate before any assistance can begin. The youth social worker is able to help a lot of children and young people, helping them establish healthy relationships and addressing their issues, as they move towards adulthood and independence.

Mentoring: A Game-Changing Approach to Children's Success

To be eligible for most youth mentoring positions, mentors must enjoy working with children and have a passion for advocating the success of youth. Good mentors are responsible, committed and good at listening. Many organizations require that mentors have experience working with children and that they pass a criminal background investigation.

Flexibility in their time is one of the things that mentors need to have in order to meet with children weekly. An effective mentor is a good person who listens, cares, and is positive. Youth should be provided with opportunities and challenges, and children should be inspired to achieve their goals.