Mansfield University Home PageBSW program graduates begin their careers in a variety of public and private social service agencies such as child welfare, mental health programs, drug and alcohol programs, programs for the aging, hospitals, nursing homes, neighborhood centers, and day care centers.
Many enter graduate schools of Social Work where they may apply for advanced standing based on the accredited status of this program. Advanced standing allows students to complete an M.S.W. in one calendar year rather than two, if attending classes full-time. Some students enroll directly in graduate school from Mansfield University while others work a year or two before entering graduate school. Most graduates believe that formal and informal continuing education and learning opportunities are necessary for the advancement of their careers in the Social Work profession.
Additionally, accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education provides access to licensing examinations in those states that regulate social work practice at the baccalaureate level.
BSW Work Settings
Social Workers provide human services in a wide variety of settings. Examples of settings that employ BSW graduates are:
Children and Youth
This includes an array of service delivery systems and client populations including pregnancy counseling, foster care and adoptions, neglect and abuse, residential services (group homes), school social work, and programs for youthful offenders.
Gerontology
This is a focus on service delivery to elderly people in a variety of settings ranging from adult day care centers, public social services, at-home support services, to skilled care nursing homes.
Health Care
This focuses on people of all ages and diagnoses receiving medical care in hospitals, hospice settings, and through home health care.
Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities
This includes a wide variety of service options for people with developmental disabilities. Practice settings typically include independent living arrangements, group homes, and day treatment centers.
Mental Health/Mental Illness
This encompasses services provided to people with mental illness and/or problems of living. Practice settings include in-patient, out-patient, community-based, long-term residential, psychosocial day programs, partial hospitalization, and transitional living centers.
Poverty
This deals with issues related to poverty and economic disenfranchisement as manifested in unemployment, homelessness, malnourishment and starvation, illiteracy, etc. Practice settings range from public welfare offices to a network of private charitable organizations.
Substance Abuse/Alcoholism
This covers issues of abuse and addiction. Practice settings include detoxification centers, in-patient, out-patient treatment programs, and community-based groups.
Additional Possibilities
Other possible areas of practice not mentioned in the categories above:
| AIDS Programs | Domestic Violence | Pregnancy Prevention |
| Credit Counseling | Eating Disorders | Social Work in Prisons |
| Crisis Intervention | Employee Assistance | Veterans Services |
| Disaster Relief | Family Counseling | Victims' Assistance |