Florida’s social welfare system has a lot of moving parts. In 2023 alone, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) oversaw over 8,000 adoptions and family reunifications. That same year, each of the state’s 51 Mobile Response Teams responded to hundreds of mental health crises in their communities. And when 270,000 Cubans, Haitians, and other refugees fled to Florida for refuge, teams of social workers, legal advocates, and mental health professionals were there to help.
But while frontline social workers are crucial to delivering these services, social work administrators are key to making it all happen.
However, being a social work administrator is about more than juggling budgets and other mundane yet vital tasks. It’s about forming partnerships, empowering communities, and making sure no one falls through the cracks. Whether you want to help Florida’s growing senior population find comfort in their golden years or bring equity to a healthcare system that’s increasingly out-of-reach for thousands of people, you can leverage your organizational and leadership skills to truly make a difference.
What Do Social Work Administrators in Florida Do?
Social work administrators work behind the scenes to make sure their frontline colleagues have everything they need to serve their clients and communities. Whether you want to work for the DCF, one of their regional Lead Agencies, a hospital, or any of the community-based nonprofits that serve Florida’s most vulnerable people, it takes a whole team of administrators to keep things moving.
Social work administrators can have quite a diverse range of duties, but some of the most common ones include:
- Supervising personnel
- Evaluating current and implementing new social service programs
- Dispersing and managing budgets
- Researching community needs and new intervention methods
- Coordinating with other agencies
- Ensuring their organizations stay compliant with laws, regulations, and ethical guidelines
The Various Job Titles and Roles in Social Work Administration
Social work administrator is a pretty broad title. Here’s a few more specific titles you’ll see as you start exploring your career options in Florida.
Program Manager, Coordinator, or Administrator
Program administrator (and variations of that title) is probably the most common position you’ll see during your job search. Basically, program administrators oversee the day-to-day operations of a social service program. Their duties typically include all the core social work administrator duties plus things like assigning caseloads.
The specifics of these duties will depend entirely on the organization you work for. For example, if you’re a program administrator with the DCF, you might be supervising Child Protective Investigators and helping families get the follow-up support they need. But if you work for the county government or a community-based social service provider, you’ll be coordinating with local agencies, developing programs that address local issues, and evaluating services.
Care Manager
If you’re interested in medical social work, then the role of care manager is something to look into. Care managers typically work in medical settings like hospitals, senior service agencies, community clinics, substance use disorder recovery centers, and anywhere else where clients need clinical services. You’ll ensure the psychosocial needs of patients are met, make discharge plans, and connect families to outside services when necessary. In some cases, you might even assess patients’ needs yourself and coordinate services with your colleagues and providers at other agencies when necessary.
Florida’s larger health systems like AdventHealth and Baptist Health hire care managers. You might also want to explore roles with the state’s Area Agencies on Aging which work closely with the Department of Elder Affairs to serve seniors in their communities.
Community Engagement Coordinator
Community engagement coordinators are in charge of making sure that all the people an agency serves are aware of the resources available to them and can access the support they need. Because this role typically requires forming and maintaining relationships with other agencies, raising community awareness, and creating outreach strategies, it would be a good fit if you’re a people person.
Once again, though, your exact duties will depend on your employer. If you work for a nonprofit like the Children’s Home Society of Florida, you’ll be working with schools and other partners to make sure families and children in need always have someone to turn to. Or if you work with an outreach organization for the unhoused like Rescue Outreach Mission in central Florida, you’ll be eliciting support from private-sector partners, connecting clients with job, housing, and financial resources, and raising awareness for meal services and similar programs.
Manager of Counseling or Clinical Services
Mental health treatment clinics, substance use disorder recovery facilities, and hospitals with behavioral health programs all offer different services for people with different needs — and it’s up to the manager of counseling services to oversee them all.
In this position, you’ll likely be reviewing patient assessments, coordinating between counselors, evaluating services, and staying up-to-date on therapeutic research and new techniques.
Licensing Specialist
The DCF relies on nonprofits, privately-run providers, and community-based agencies to provide services whether it’s behavioral health counseling or foster care. For that reason, the DCF’s licensing specialists are vital to the state’s social service network.
The primary duty of a licensing specialist is to enforce and uphold the regulations childcare agencies are governed by. They inspect agencies, investigate violations, and make sure families understand their rights and agencies understand the law. If protecting vulnerable children is your calling, this is a great administrative career to embark upon.
Preparing for a Career in Social Work Administration in Florida With an MSW
While there are plenty of entry-level administration roles like social services assistant or case manager that only require a bachelor’s degree, whether a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or in another field. Many of the more advanced positions require a Master of Social Work (MSW). This is especially true if you’d like to take on a director position or similarly high-level role later in your career.
Fortunately, no matter what niche you’re considering, there are a few different types of programs that can prepare you for a career in social service administration in Florida.
In-state Social Work Administration Programs
There are only a handful of MSW programs in Florida that focus solely on social work administration. But what the state lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.
For starters, there’s Florida State University’s MSW in Leadership program which is available at the Tallahassee campus. With classes on policy analysis, research, and personnel management, this program teaches leadership skills you can take to almost any social service agency. You can even pair your MSW with a Master of Business Administration (great for getting into the private sector) or a Master of Public Administration (great for careers in the nonprofit or government sector).
Tallahassee is also home to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University’s Macro MSW program. Here, you’ll take classes on community development and resource management and have the option to take electives on rural social work, case management, and staff development. If you want to work for a community-based or government agency, FAMU might be an excellent choice.
Another one to consider is the Advanced Generalist MSW program at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. As an Advanced Generalist program, UNF’s program blends classes on program management and policy with classes on serving individuals, too. And with electives on specialties like military social work, healthcare, and palliative care, you can customize your schedule to meet your goals whether you’re focused on something specific or still feeling out your career options.
Online Social Work Administration Programs
If for whatever reason an on-campus MSW program just isn’t in the cards, you’re not shut out from a rewarding career in social service administration. As of late 2024, the Council on Social Work Education lists 45 accredited online MSW programs that focus on multiple aspects of administration. They’re available from respected schools of social work all over the country.
If you’re taking the online route, you can get an MSW in:
- Community Development and Social Systems
- Leadership
- Macro and Community-level Social Work
- Program Administration and Management
- Social Policy
Like on-campus programs, online MSW programs require students to complete a fieldwork experience before graduation. Policies vary, but online programs typically have dedicated fieldwork placement advisors who can help you find a placement in your area. With that kind of support, you can get both the flexibility and hands-on experience you need.
Clinical MSW Programs
If you’re thinking about taking on a clinical management position or an administrative role at a mental health clinic, healthcare facility, or recovery center, you’ll more than likely need to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) through the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling.
LCSWs are state-licensed social workers who go through rigorous training to provide advanced mental health services to their clients. In Florida, they’re the only type of social worker who can diagnose mental health disorders. But while many LCSWs work in frontline positions, they’re also typically the top choice for administrative positions at agencies that offer clinical services.
Fortunately, 11 out of Florida’s 14 accredited MSW programs offer clinical programs designed to help you become an LCSW. While you’ll take classes that will prepare you to meet clients’ complex mental health needs, you’ll also learn about:
- Supervising diverse clinical teams.
- Conducting and implementing research.
- Policy analysis.
- Program evaluation.
Some clinical programs in Florida, like the University of Central Florida and Barry University, offer 100% online clinical MSW programs. Many also offer graduate certificates in specialties like gerontology, child welfare, and substance use disorders.
Professional Certifications for Social Work Administrators
Once you earn your degree and get your career started, you can earn some professional certifications to demonstrate your expertise and pursue higher-level administration roles. Professional certifications aren’t necessarily required for advanced positions, but they can help you stand out for competitive roles.
If you’re a social service administrator in Florida, there’s one certification you should strongly consider: the Certified Master Social Worker (CMSW) credential.
Offered by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, CMSW certification is awarded to social service professionals who have:
- Earned their MSW
- Taken graduate-level courses on agency administration, program planning, and similar topics (Leadership, Administration, and Advanced Generalist MSW programs can help you complete this requirement)
- Completed three years of professional experience
- Passed a national certification exam administered by the Association of Social Work Boards
Because this government-issued credential has some pretty rigorous requirements, it’s one of the highest and most respected certifications you can earn as a social service administrator in Florida.
On top of that, you can also earn certifications in topics like gerontology, case management, substance use disorders, and healthcare through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The NASW is influential in everything from social work education to state-level licensing standards, so their certifications are well-respected. There are certifications for social workers with both BSWs and MSWs, but for MSW-level certification, you’ll need at least two years of professional experience and 20 hours of relevant continuing education.