Social Welfare and Policy in Florida Social Work

Written by Sam Medley

When people think of social work, they think of people out in the field: counselors helping people through mental health crises, child abuse investigators removing children from dangerous living situations, and outreach specialists helping the unhoused find a place to sleep.

But before any of those professionals can do their life-saving work, there have to be systems and policies in place. There must be funding. There must be community investment.

That’s where social welfare policy specialists come in — and Florida could do with more of them.

While many aspects of Florida’s welfare system need reform, a prime example is its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Under TANF, low-income families can qualify for financial aid for up to four years.

However, TANF payments haven’t been updated since the 90s. According to the Florida Policy Institute, a family of three receives about $300 each month. It’s not nothing, but in a world where inflation, gas prices, rent, healthcare costs, and low wages are putting millions of Americans in a bind, is it enough?

In a state where over 14% of families live below the poverty line, no, it’s not enough. And in Gadsden, Putnam, and other largely rural counties where as many as 30% of families live in poverty, it’s definitely, unarguably, heartbreakingly not enough. These families are nearly drowning and have only a thread of a lifeline to cling to.

If righting the wrongs of these systemic shortcomings is your calling, here’s how you can become a social welfare policy specialist in Florida with a Master of Social Work (MSW).

What Do Social Welfare Policy Professionals Do in Florida?

Social welfare policy professionals are administrators who craft and implement policies that affect entire communities and organizations. While many work for government agencies, they can also work for nonprofit and private organizations in every social work specialty, including healthcare, child welfare, veterans services, and mental health.

But no matter which sector they work in, social welfare policy professionals:

Research emerging social issues and their impact on specific communities
Analyze and review current social service programs while paying special attention to any gaps
Make policy change proposals to other leaders and stakeholders
Calculate and disperse budgets
Solicit support for positive policy changes from the social service workforce, the public, lawmakers, and community partners
Advocate for legal reforms that benefit the communities they serve

Career Opportunities in the Government Sector

While multiple state agencies make up Florida’s government social service network, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is its core. However, unlike similar departments in most other states, the DCF relies on their nonprofit and private-sector partners to administer most services. The DCF’s role is to carry out child abuse and neglect investigations, provide support to community-based service providers, and guide state social service policy.

This means that if policy is your passion, the DCF is a great place to explore your career options.

Here are a few policy-focused roles you can take on with the DCF:

Operations Review Specialist. These professionals inspect social service agencies and make sure they stay compliant with state and federal law. They also review state policies to make sure they empower both the public and the agencies that serve them.
Government Operations Consultant. Consultants provide guidance to local service providers taking part in state-sponsored programs like the Overdose Prevention Program. They facilitate training, allocate resources, and monitor the outcomes of programs so state legislators can make informed policy and budgetary decisions.
Behavioral Health Consultant. Working closely with child protection investigators, Behavioral Health Consultants ensure Florida families have access to all the mental health resources they need. Just as importantly, they help local providers and legislators design programs and policies that serve families in need.
Contract Manager Specialist. Contract manager specialists help the DCF manage their relationships with local service providers. To do so, they must help contractors gather the resources they need to support their communities, analyze policies and procedures to find gaps, and help their colleagues draft contracts that take all DCF policies into consideration.

The best part is you can take on these roles and more in any number of departments dedicated to things like child and family services, economic self-sufficiency, mental health, or refugee services. You may also want to explore roles with the DCF’s Quality and Innovation team — a department dedicated to exploring ways to improve services and policies.

Career Opportunities in Social Welfare and Policy Analysis in Florida’s Nonprofit and Private Sector

You don’t have to work for a government agency to become an influential policy expert in Florida. In the nonprofit or private sector, you can help your own organization craft policies that benefit your community. But just as importantly, you can play an instrumental role in both supporting government agencies and holding legislators accountable.

For instance, the state’s larger hospitals like Lakeland Regional and Orlando Health often employ Behavioral Health Specialists to ensure patients’ psychosocial needs are met during every stage of care — a role that someone with a background in social work is a perfect fit for. Administrators who run low- or no-cost clinics, programs designed for seniors, and similar initiatives have equally important roles in governing organizational policy.

If you’re more interested in widespread systemic reform, Florida is home to an impressive number of nonprofit agencies that bring everyday citizens and legislators together to enact change. There’s the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Equality Florida, the Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, and many, many more. While these organizations need social workers to provide services to people in need, they also need community outreach coordinators, policy analysts, researchers, and administrators of all kinds who can leverage their resources to make their voices heard at the Capitol.

How To Become a Social Welfare and Policy Specialist in Florida With a Specialized MSW

As you explore social welfare policy careers in Florida, you’ll notice that requirements vary widely. Some organizations only require a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) unless you’re going for high-level director roles. Others want all applicants to have a master’s degree in a related subject.

But no matter what specific role you’re applying for, you’ll likely need at least some experience in providing services directly to clients and/or agency administration. Many government social welfare policy positions also require applicants to be Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Certified Master Social Workers (CMSWs), or hold similar professional credentials.

So all in all, social welfare policy-makers can come from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. But by earning a Master of Social Work, you can enter the field with the experience and education so many positions require.

While there are many kinds of MSW programs out there, they all include two main elements: classroom instruction and a hands-on fieldwork experience. This structure not only helps you understand how to apply social work theories to real-world situations, but gives you an intimate understanding of how the social welfare system works and what barriers exist within it. This knowledge is crucial to becoming an informed policymaker in every sector.

Depending on your career goals, there are three types of MSW programs in Florida to check out.

Macro- and Mezzo-Level Leadership MSW Programs Offer a Flexible Option for Policymakers of All Kinds

As a future social welfare policymaker, your first natural option is enrolling in a macro- or leadership-focused MSW program. These programs teach you how to manage a social service agency’s day-to-day affairs and serve large groups of people.

Macro and leadership MSW programs typically include classes on:

Other types of MSW programs also include classes on social policy, but they typically focus on helping social workers operate within the bounds of those policies. Macro and leadership programs often have multiple and more advanced classes that teach you how to evaluate existing policies and push for reform.

There are only two accredited schools of social work in Florida that offer these types of programs. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee’s Macro MSW program focuses on community empowerment making it a great choice if you want to work for the state government or a nonprofit. Florida State University (which has programs in Tallahassee and Panama City and online) offers an MSW in Social Leadership with classes on research, organizational development, and advanced policy analysis.

Outside of these programs, you can explore many of the online macro, social welfare policy, and leadership programs available from schools of social work across the country.

Clinical MSW Programs Can Be a Perfect for Mental Health and Healthcare Policy Positions

If you’re passionate about improving mental or medical healthcare access, becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) is often the way to go. LCSWs go through a rigorous training process so they can diagnose and treat any kind of mental health disorder. Not all mental and clinical health policy positions require applicants to be LCSWs, but as some of the most respected professionals in social work overall, they’re often preferred.

Accredited clinical MSW programs in Florida typically include all the classes you need to become an LCSW through the state’s Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. Courses you’ll take that can help you with a career in social welfare policy include ones on:

With this education, you can also take on the highest-level direct practice roles in agencies of all kinds. So if you want to gain some first-hand insights into what people need before pivoting into a policymaking role, this is a great path to take.

Fortunately, you’ll find clinical MSW programs at the vast majority of Florida’s schools of social work. Some even offer graduate certificates in areas like child welfare, gerontology, and military social work.

Dual Degree MSW Programs Offer More Advanced and Specialized Policy Expertise

Your third and perhaps most dynamic option is earning a dual degree in social work and a policy-related field. However, you won’t have to earn both degrees separately. There are a handful of accredited social work programs in Florida that allow you to earn an MSW and a second master’s in three years. If you have a bachelor of social work and qualify for an Advanced Standing program, it might even take less time.

Future social welfare policy experts often pair their MSWs with a:

Master of Business Administration (MBA). Knowing the ins-and-outs of running a business is a great way to help organizations of all kinds make long-lasting policy changes and become stewards of their communities.
Master of Public Administration (MPA). MPAs are for students who want to become executive administrators at government agencies and nonprofits. This is an excellent choice if you want to work for the DCF or one of their community-based partners.
Master of Public Health (MPH). MPH programs teach students how to promote public health, run public health initiatives, and combat widespread health issues. Whether you want to work for the Florida Department of Health on its health equity initiatives or help a healthcare facility serve its community in meaningful ways, combining an MPH with an MSW can help you do just that.
Master of Science in Criminology. If you’re passionate about prison or policing reform, victims’ rights, immigration reform, or homeless outreach, pairing your MSW with a degree in criminology prepares you to address the many social circumstances that bring imbalance to the criminal justice system.
Juris Doctor (JD). A JD is the degree lawyers earn before they take their bar exams and officially become lawyers. While you don’t necessarily have to become a lawyer after earning a JD, having a strong background in both social work and law can help you champion legal reform in just about any setting.

There are three MSW programs in Florida that offer dual degree programs. At Florida International University in Miami, you can add a JD or MPH to your clinical social work degree. The University of South Florida also has a joint clinical MSW-MPH program. And at Florida State University, you can pair an MSW in Clinical Practice or Leadership with a JD, MPA, MBA, or Master of Science in Criminal Justice.

Professional Certifications for Policy Specialists

If you’re getting into social welfare policy in Florida, there’s one major professional certification to consider: CMSW certification from the Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling.

Basically, CMSWs are experienced social work administrators and policy experts who have gone through a rigorous process to earn their titles. Even though CMSW certification is typically only required for some government positions, it’s a much-respected title in every corner of Florida’s social welfare network. To become a CMSW, you’ll have to:

Earn an MSW
Take graduate-level classes on topics like agency administration, research, community organization, and human services advocacy.
Have three years of work experience
Pass the Advanced Generalist Exam administered by the Association of Social Work Boards

Outside of that, though, there aren’t too many policy-focused certifications for social workers out there. However, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) offers certifications in specialties like healthcare, gerontology, substance use disorders, and child and family welfare. Because the NASW is one of the country’s most influential social work organizations, their certifications carry a lot of weight. Earning one can be a great way to set yourself apart if you want to take on high-level policymaking roles in specific specialties.