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What is a forensic social worker and how to become one
What general advice would you give to a Forensic Social Worker?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Avg. Salary $51,696
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth Rate 9%
Growth Rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.51%
Asian 2.67%
Black or African American 13.37%
Hispanic or Latino 15.12%
Unknown 4.19%
White 63.14%
Genderfemale 78.63%
male 21.37%
Age - 42American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 42Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity Level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work Life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Forensic Social Worker career paths
Key steps to become a forensic social worker
Explore forensic social worker education requirements
Start to develop specific forensic social worker skills
Skills 
Percentages Social Work 29.40% Psycho-Social Assessments 11.12% Mental Health 8.92% Crisis Intervention 8.83% Criminal Justice 4.42% Complete relevant forensic social worker training and internships
Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New forensic social workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a forensic social worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real forensic social worker resumes.Obtain the necessary licensing
Becoming a licensed forensic social worker usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed forensic social worker in most of states. 32 states require forensic social workers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.State Education Exam License Url Kansas Degree required Third-party exam required Licensed Master Social Worker Alabama Degree required State exam required Licensed Bachelor Social Worker (LBSW) Arkansas Degree required Third-party exam required Licensed Certified Social Worker Hawaii Degree required Third-party exam required Licensed Social Worker Idaho Degree required Third-party exam required Social Workers Research forensic social worker duties and responsibilities
- Manage caseload and complete all paperwork according to OMH guidelines.
- Counsele veterans and Medi-Cal clients individually to provide behavioral interventions in order to address their anxiety, depression and anger.
- Facilitate the building of community partnerships and provide community outreach and marketing efforts to generate new client business.
Prepare your forensic social worker resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your forensic social worker resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a forensic social worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Forensic Social Worker Resume templates
Build a professional Forensic Social Worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Forensic Social Worker resume.
Apply for forensic social worker jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a forensic social worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How Did You Land Your First Forensic Social Worker Job
Are you a Forensic Social Worker?
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Average forensic social worker salary
The average Forensic Social Worker salary in the United States is $51,696 per year or $25 per hour. Forensic social worker salaries range between $41,000 and $64,000 per year.
What Am I Worth?
How do forensic social workers rate their job?
Forensic Social Worker reviews
Working collaboratively with clients to help them understand themselves and experience their authentic selves. Learning from my clients.
Low pay
Serving people, impacting change in communities, never boring
pay is low for what you need to do
Making a positive impact for my client that they wanted.
The accredited MSW should be sufficient to practice the specialized areas of social work. The Ridiculous testing after so much schooling is further decreasing our earning power. This is causing the averaged alumni with a MSW to work knowing they are just a few paychecks shy of seeking someone within our own profession for help. The LICENSE should be based on confirmation of school accreditation and graduation...not re-testing. Quite frankly, it's insulting to all MSW graduates! The excessive paperwork places Additional undue stress upon SW and should be trimmed as much as possible. This also applies to the Health Information Technology (HIT) selected by the company. The HIT should have the capabilities to process forms necessary for daily work, data collection, and. ease of access.
Updated January 8, 2025
