The return home after a tour of duty in a combat zone is never easy. Even veterans who return to a support network of friends and family still come home changed, often trying to process experiences and emotions they can’t fully understand themselves. And while battling this inner turmoil, they have plenty of other battles to face just to get their feet under them for life in the civilian world — post-separation employment, navigating VA benefits programs, and just finding their place in a world that seems to have moved on without them.
PTSD, addiction, homelessness, and general disillusionment can set in quick under these conditions. But fortunately, Florida’s veterans support network is one of the best in the county.
Since 2010, the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs reports that homelessness among the state’s veterans has dropped by close to 70%. That’s a huge win, and one worth celebrating. But many veterans still live in poverty and have unmet mental health and medical needs. Military families still struggle to adjust to new places and situations. But in every case, military social workers are there to help.
What Do Florida’s Military Social Workers Do?
Military social workers specialize in serving active-duty service members, veterans, and their families. In many cases, they work directly for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or their state-based affiliates like the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. In fact, the VA has over 20,000 social workers on staff making it the largest social worker employer in the entire country.
However, the VA isn’t the only game in town. Military social workers also work for nonprofit organizations, charities, and each branch of the military. But no matter where they work, their core duties include:
- Providing counseling for PTSD, substance use disorders, depression, and other serious mental health issues
- Helping clients understand and access their military benefits
- Connecting clients to community resources when government resources leave gaps
- Advocating for programs and policies that benefit active-duty service members, veterans, and their families
If this is the path for you, you’ll find quite an amazing array of places to serve in Florida, each one allowing you to support the nation’s veterans and active-duty service members in unique ways.
The VA in Florida: A Powerhouse of Veterans Services
To illustrate just how vital social workers are to Florida’s veterans and military families, there’s no better place to investigate than the VA North Florida/South Georgia Health System. They’re the single largest VA healthcare network in the entire country and serve around 178,000 veterans every single year.
Their biggest locations are the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville and the VA Medical Center in Lake City. Social workers at these locations help veterans get the medical care they need, connect them to specialists and outpatient therapy, provide counseling for veterans battling the psychological trauma of their experiences and injuries, and generally guide them through this massive network. If you’re more interested in the counseling side, you can investigate roles with the network’s many mental health clinics including a brand new one in Gainesville.
But just as important as the bigger clinics are the many small community-based clinics in rural parts of the state, including Marianna in the Panhandle and Middleburg outside of Jacksonville. These clinics tend to offer robust medical and mental health service programs, and as a social worker here you’d be invaluable to helping returning veterans find jobs, readjust to civilian life, and find care for their loved ones.
In addition to serving veterans directly, the facilities in this network also conduct groundbreaking research on brain injuries, neurological disorders, geriatric care, and rural health services. While medical professionals might run the show, social workers can assess patients, investigate the social and mental impact of new and existing treatments, and find ways to bring those treatments to more veterans.
Military Social Workers Serving Florida Nonprofits, Charities, and Other Non-government Organizations: Filling Gaps and Saving Lives
As well-equipped as the VA is in north Florida and other parts of the state, there’s always a risk of veterans falling through the cracks — homeless veterans who aren’t near and can’t get to a VA clinic, those whose mental health issues keep them isolated, and those who just aren’t getting the support they need and deserve from the government.
Fortunately, this extremely vulnerable group has a safety net in Florida’s massive nonprofit and charity sector.
At the head of this front is the Florida Veterans’ Foundation. Founded in 2008, the FVF does it all: VA benefits and pension assistance, crisis intervention, homeless outreach, and more. But the FVF doesn’t do it alone. Their community partners help them run a number of highly specialized initiatives. With the American Legion (another major veteran’s service provider), they provide financial assistance to veterans in need. And with Villagers for Veterans in the Villages, they operate Ashely’s House and Ashley’s Cottage, long- and short-term transitional housing for returning female veterans named after First Lt. Ashley White Stumpf who made the ultimate sacrifice for her country in Afghanistan in 2011.
In addition to these more local organizations, you’ll also find local chapters of national organizations like the VFW, the American Legion, AMVETS, and others. But whether you’re working with a national or local organization, being a social worker in this sector requires perseverance in the face of bureaucratic red tape and creativity when it comes to finding local resources. Either way, you’ll make sure every veteran has a place in the country they fought so hard to protect.
Getting into Military Social Work in Florida With a Specialized MSW
While you might find some entry-level case manager jobs that only require a bachelor’s degree, many of the military social worker jobs you’ll find in Florida require a Master of Social Work (MSW) and, in many cases, clinical licensure. For example, the VA has required its social workers to have an MSW and a social work license since 1991. And since they’re one of the leading employers in this specialty, other agencies tend to follow their lead.
That being said, the majority of Florida’s accredited MSW programs (11 out of 13) are designed to help you become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Through the University of Central Florida’s clinical MSW program in Tallahassee, you can earn a graduate certificate in military social work that will prepare you to assess and treat the unique mental health challenges faced by veterans, service members, and their families. But while UCF is the only school of social work in Florida to offer a military social work specialty or certificate, many other schools offer military social work electives.
So is that it? Are those your only options if you want to prepare for a career in military social work in Florida? The short answer is no, not at all.
Leveraging Your Fieldwork Experience to Learn More About Military Social Work
No matter which clinical MSW program you choose, you’ll complete a hands-on and very in-depth fieldwork experience before you graduate. Your fieldwork advisor can help you find a placement with an agency that serves veterans and active-duty service members. This way, you can learn how to apply the advanced theories and techniques you learn in class to military settings.
And given Florida’s large active-duty and veteran population, these opportunities are by no means rare.
For starters, the VA runs a massive clinical training and internship program and cooperates closely with schools of social work across the country (including many in Florida). Some placements offer stipends. According to their database, military social work internships in Florida are available in Miami, Bay Pines, Panama City, Pensacola, Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, and Palm Beach.
On top of that, while you can certainly work with your fieldwork advisor to find a placement, many schools have long-standing relationships with organizations that serve military families in their areas. For instance, in addition to working with the VA, Florida State University lists fieldwork opportunities with the 7th Special Forces Group’s Psychological Performance Program Clinic at Elgin Air Force Base.
Online Military MSW Programs Through Florida’s CSWE-Accredited Schools of Social Work
If you’re thinking about earning your MSW online, that opens you up to a lot more options. You can either enroll in a program that offers an online MSW with a concentration in military social work or an online military social work graduate certificate program.
There’s Dominican University in Chicago which offers an online MSW with a military social work concentration option. And through the University of Kentucky, you can earn a certificate in military social work after being accepted into their online MSW program.
However, if you go this route, keep in mind that if you want to qualify for an LCSW license in Florida, you’ll have to meet the education requirements set by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling.
First, the Board says your MSW must come from a program that’s been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Fortunately, boards of social work in other states also have this requirement so there’s plenty of accredited programs out there.
Second, you’ll have to take 24 semester hours of classes covering human behavior, clinical services, and psychopathology. To ensure the program you’re eyeing meets this requirement, it’s a good idea to check with both the school’s faculty and the Board itself.
Professional Certification Options For Florida’s Military Social Workers
In addition to your MSW and clinical license, you may also want to consider earning a professional certification in military social work, as well. Though not legally required, holding a certification can show employers that you’re an expert in veterans services and help you qualify for advanced and administrative positions.
The National Association of Social Work (NASW) offers three levels of military social work certification:
- Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families - Social Worker (MVF-SW) Certification for social workers with bachelor’s degrees and two years of experience in this field.
- Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families - Advanced Social Worker (MVF-ASW) Certification for social workers with MSWs and two years of experience.
- Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families - Clinical Social Worker (MVF-CSW) Certification for social workers with MSWs, clinical licenses, and three years of experience.