In most states, the main social service providers are state-run agencies. But in Florida, things are a bit different. Instead of providing services themselves, state agencies depend on partnerships in the nonprofit space to meet community’s needs.
Take, for instance, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). For the last two-and-a-half decades, the DCF has mostly handled child abuse investigations, facility licensing, and other high-level tasks. But if a person needs adoption or foster care services, behavioral health counseling, or pretty much anything else, they’ll need to go through one of Florida’s non-profit Community-based Care Lead Agencies.
Lead Agencies are private, nonprofit organizations that contract with the DCF to provide social services in a specific region of the state. They operate family resource centers, coordinate with smaller, more specialized providers like adoption agencies, and even run Florida’s Mobile Response Teams — teams of social workers and other behavioral health professionals that respond to psychological crises around the clock.
This puts nonprofits at the center of Florida’s social service network. They don’t just fill gaps left by government agencies — they run the whole show.
But in addition to frontline professionals who serve people directly, these organizations need nonprofit managers, administrators who know how to find out what their communities need and leverage their leadership skills to deliver it.
If this is the path for you, your journey can start by earning a Master of Social Work (MSW). Fortunately, Florida is home to MSW programs that can prepare you to take on leadership roles at any of the nonprofits that deliver life-saving services all over the state.
What Do Florida’s Nonprofit Social Services Manager Do?
In many ways, nonprofits operate like and have similar needs to privately-run businesses. They need marketing experts, accountants, and HR representatives to run their internal affairs.
But when it comes to serving their communities, nonprofits need socially-conscious professionals at the helm. And that’s where social workers come in.
In nonprofit management, social workers often take on roles as community outreach directors, program administrators, staff supervisors, and client case managers. But no matter their exact title, social workers in the nonprofit sector are often responsible for:
- Researching community needs
- Designing service programs that address those needs
- Running public education programs that bring awareness to community issues and initiatives designed to solve them
- Ensuring their organizations stay compliant with all laws and ethical guidelines
- Helping other administrators create budgets and allocate resources
- Maintaining relationships with other organizations like community-based agencies, government agencies, and private-sector partners
- Soliciting funding from donors, grants, and other sources
- Supporting smaller community-based agencies by sharing resources and information
Depending on what kind of work your nonprofit does, you’ll be able to carry out these duties in some unique, rewarding ways. For example, if you work for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, you’ll oversee programs that help Floridians with cerebral palsy, autism, and more get the medical and psychological support they need. Or if you take on a role with Lutheran Services Florida – one of the state’s biggest nonprofits – you could head-up any one of a number of distinct programs, such as the mental health advocacy initiative or family crisis support program.
Social Workers are Fostering Accountability in Florida’s Privatized Welfare System
When Florida privatized most of its social service system in the early 2000s, the main goals were to enable experts to become stewards of their communities, reduce bureaucracy, and revitalize the state’s troubled welfare system. As you might expect, this system isn’t without its flaws — and some of them are glaring.
Over the years, state and national advocacy groups alike have uncovered financial fraud, dangerous child placement policies, and countless other transgressions that put real people in real danger. Just recently, two executives of a nonprofit focused on helping the victims of domestic violence were arrested for defrauding their organization of close to $4 million.
While the organizations themselves take the blame, many questioned just how closely the DCF monitored their contractors. In response, legislators passed the DCF Accountability Act in 2020, a law that gave the DCF more oversight authority and provided more resources to social service training programs.
This situation emphasizes one thing: Florida’s nonprofits need informed, compassionate, action-oriented leaders.
They need administrators who craft policies that protect the vulnerable people they serve. They need program managers who ensure every last person gets the treatment they deserve. And above all else, they need advocates who hold their own organizations and others accountable for their actions. No matter what exact role you take on in the wide world of nonprofit management in Florida, this is how you stand to make a difference for countless people with nowhere else to turn.
Becoming a Nonprofit Administrator with a Specialized MSW: Your Degree Options in Florida
Because nonprofits aren’t governed by the same cut-and-dry laws as government social service agencies, job requirements can vary from place to place. At one place, you might be able to take on a relatively high-level supervisor or associate director role with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and a few years of experience. At another, having an MSW might be required.
However, BSW programs typically focus on the basics of the field. MSW programs go beyond that and teach important leadership and administrative skills. For that reason, having an MSW can help you take on the highest-level, most important nonprofit management roles.
Depending on what your ultimate career goals are, there are a couple of different types of MSW programs to consider.
Generalist Social Work MSW Programs in Florida
As a nonprofit administrator in Florida, managing day-to-day affairs will likely only be one aspect of your job. You’ll also need to research your community’s needs, figure out how to meet them, and support your team as they go out into the field. If you earn a generalist MSW or one tailored specifically to nonprofit management, that’s exactly what you’ll learn how to do.
Generalist, mezzo-level social work focuses on meeting the needs of people and entire communities through effective social services programs. If you enroll in a generalist MSW program, you’ll take classes on:
- Social welfare law and policies
- Social research
- Community development
- Program design, evaluation, and implementation
- Resource (financial, material, human, etc.) management
- Organizational theory and behavior
Whether you want to help Florida’s immigrants navigate the complex citizenship process or spearhead a homeless outreach program, these skills are invaluable.
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee offers an MSW program that takes a culturally-aware approach to agency administration. And through Florida State University’s Social Work Leadership MSW program, you’ll learn all about administration while also taking classes on serving individuals, families, and communities — a great combination if you’re looking to get into community-based nonprofit management.
Clinical MSW Programs in Florida
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) are among the most highly-respected and in-demand professionals in the field because they can diagnose and provide advanced treatment for a variety of mental health disorders. To become an LCSW in Florida, you’ll have to enroll in a clinically-focused MSW program and go through the state’s rigorous licensing process.
However, LCSWs don’t just make great frontline social workers. Their training makes them excellent administrators at nonprofit agencies that provide medical and mental health services.
While a clinical MSW program will prepare you to provide counseling to individuals and families, you’ll also learn about:
- Research and experimental design
- Meeting the mental health needs of seniors, children, and other high-risk groups
- Supervising teams of social workers and other professionals
- Overseeing and assessing clinical programs
- Psychopathology (the study of mental health disorders and contributing factors)
In Florida, LCSWs can also operate their own private mental health practices. So if you’re thinking about starting your own community-based nonprofit agency, a clinical MSW program might be the way to go.
Fortunately, the vast majority of accredited MSW programs in Florida offer clinical degree tracks. At Florida State University, you can even pair your clinical MSW with a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) or a Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) to bolster your organizational leadership skills. Some programs, like the University of Western Florida’s online and on-campus programs, offer electives in social service leadership and management.
Online MSW Programs for Nonprofit Management Roles
If you’re looking for an MSW program that focuses more narrowly on social service provider management, you can turn to any number of online MSW programs for more options. As of May 2024, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) lists about 40 online MSW programs that offer concentrations in areas like community development, social policy, macro social work, and administration and management.
While each program is a little different, classes are typically a blend of asynchronous, pre-recorded lectures you can watch at any time and live virtual sessions that mimic the on-campus experience. Like in-person programs, you’ll have to complete a practicum experience before you graduate, but most schools help students find placements in their local areas. This means you can find a program that works for you while balancing everything else: your job, your family, or anything else that might otherwise make earning an MSW a little more of a stretch.
Keep in mind, though, that if you go the clinical route, your degree program will have to meet the standards set forth by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. In-state programs are designed with those standards in mind, but out-of-state ones aren’t. Before you get going, you may want to confirm with the school you’re applying to and the Board itself that the curriculum meets their standards.
Professional Certifications for Nonprofit Social Services Administrators in Florida
In Florida’s massive nonprofit sector, professional certifications can help you define your skill set and highlight your talents. While there are a few national certification options, macro- and administration-focused social workers in Florida have a more unique opportunity: becoming a Certified Master Social Worker (CMSW).
Offered through the Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, CMSW certification is available to social workers who have:
- An MSW from a CSWE-accredited school.
- Taken three semester hours each of classes on:
- Agency administration and supervision.
- Community organization.
- Community services.
- Human services advocacy.
- Program planning and evaluation.
- Social planning.
- Staff development.
- Three years of professional experience.
- Passed an exam administered by the Association of Social Work Board.
As a rigorous, state-issued credential, CMSW certification is a great option if you’re getting established in the nonprofit, public, or private sector.
If you’re passionate about a particular specialty within nonprofit management and administration, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the country’s leading professional social worker organization, offers certifications in:
- Substance use disorders
- Clinical social work
- Gerontology
- Case management
- Healthcare social work
- Palliative care
- Military social work
- Child, youth, and family welfare