101 Careers in Social Work

Jessica A. Ritter, PhD, MSSW, BSW, is a full professor of social work at the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Ritter has over 20 years of experience as a social worker. She earned a BSW, MSSW, and PhD in social work at the University of Texas at Austin. Her career as a social worker and academic has been dedicated to political advocacy, child welfare, and children's rights. Over the course of her career, she has held a variety of positions at both the micro and macro levels—from working as a caseworker at Children's Protective Services, to working in an administrative capacity in child welfare, to conducting research. Today, her passion includes teaching policy and macro-level social work courses with the goal of getting undergraduate social work students excited about social policy, demystifying the political process, increasing students' levels of political efficacy, and inspiring students to be engaged politically. Dr. Ritter is a Fulbright scholar and is the author of two books— 101 Careers in Social Work and Social Work Policy Practice: Changing Our Community, Nation, and the World. Being a social work educator is one of the great joys of her life! Ann Obermann, PhD, MSSW, BSW, LCSW, is an assistant professor of social work and online education coordinator at the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Obermann has been a practicing social worker for over 20 years, partnering with children, youth, and families in a variety of social work settings and roles. After receiving her BSW, Dr. Obermann worked as a residential and jobs counselor for youth experiencing homelessness, running groups, outreaching youth, and handing out clean socks. With her MSW in hand, Dr. Obermann worked with teenage girls and their families, running therapeutic groups, family therapy sessions, conducting mental health evaluations, and handing out clean socks, all which contributed to earning her LCSW. Through the years, Dr. Obermann has been a family therapist, foster parent trainer, supervisor of mental health therapists, adjunct professor, and program manager at a community mental health center. Currently, Dr. Obermann is enjoying working in higher education after receiving her PhD from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, with her research focusing on issues of access and equity in online education. She teaches philosophy of social work, generalist practice with groups, social work leadership, social work with children and adolescents, and working with families. Kristin Lindsay Danhoff, PhD, MSW, BA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in psychology and her master's in social work from the University of Nebraska–Omaha. Dr. Danhoff has over a decade of experience in the field of social work and has held direct service positions with state agencies, hospitals, and community-based nonprofits in Nebraska and Colorado. She has expertise in domestic/interpersonal violence, child welfare, medical social work, and evaluation research. Today, her career as an academic focuses on program evaluation related to accreditation and grant-funded community projects. Dr. Danhoff's scholarly pursuits focus largely on evaluation methodology, teaching across cultural strengths, contemplative pedagogy, and hidden beliefs in teaching perspectives. Her teaching passions follow her professional career focusing on both micro and macro systems—teaching generalist practice courses to support students' confidence and ability in effectively engaging with client systems and research courses with the goal of simplifying and revealing the language, methods, and benefits of research to social work practitioners. Dr. Danhoff also serves on the Board of Directors for the Social Work Education Assessment Project (SWEAP).

Preface
Acknowledgments
I. THE PROFESSION OF SOCIAL WORK
1. What Is Social Work?
2. Got Social Work?
3. Follow the Yellow Brick Road: Education and Licensure for Social Workers
II. CAREERS IN SOCIAL WORK
4. Careers in Child Welfare
5. School-Based Social Work
6. Social Work With Older Adults
7. Social Work in Health Care
8. Social Work in Mental Health and Addiction
9. Careers in Crisis Intervention
10. Careers in Criminal Justice and the Legal Arena
11. Careers in International Social Work and Human Rights
12. Careers in Poverty and Homelessness
13. Careers in Advocacy and the Political Arena
14. Careers in Community Practice
15. Leadership in Human Service Organizations
16. Careers in Research and Academia
17. "Out of the Box" Social Work Careers
III WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
18. Paying for Your Social Work Education
19. Job Hunting Tips
Epilogue
Index