Child, family, and school social workers
SOC Code: 21-1021
Child, family, and school social workers carries a 26% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $58,570 and +3.4% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 399,900 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 26% AI exposure, Child, family, and school social workers sits 11 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 17% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
63/100
Child, family, and school social workers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage D $58,570
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth C +3.4%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) A- 26% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Child, family, and school social workers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Child, family, and school social workers shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Average (378 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Child, family, and school social workers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Child, family, and school social workers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
26% Among the lowest lower than 83% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Child, family, and school social workers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Child, family, and school social workers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Child, family, and school social workers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 21-1021) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Child, family, and school social workers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Child, family, and school social workers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.
- 2. Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
- 3. Recommend temporary foster care and advise foster or adoptive parents.
- 4. Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
- 5. Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty.
- 6. Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.
- 7. Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
- 8. Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
- 9. Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
- 10. Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Reading Comprehension
- Service Orientation
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Writing
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
- English Language
- Administrative
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Education and Training
- Law and Government
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Child, family, and school social workers?
Child, family, and school social workers has an AI exposure score of 26%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Child, family, and school social workers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Child, family, and school social workers is projected to grow by 3.4% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 399,900 workers.
What skills are needed for Child, family, and school social workers?
Key skills for Child, family, and school social workers include Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Child, family, and school social workers earn?
The median annual wage for Child, family, and school social workers is $58,570, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Child, family, and school social workers?
The typical entry-level education for Child, family, and school social workers is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Child, family, and school social workers?
Child, family, and school social workers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Child, family, and school social workers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (26% here).
- Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 26%
- Architectural and engineering managers · AI exposure 26%
- Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 26%
- Athletic trainers · AI exposure 26%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+3.4% here).
- Amusement and recreation attendants · growth +3.4%
- Conservation scientists · growth +3.4%
- Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers · growth +3.4%
- Firefighters · growth +3.4%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 10 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Child, family, and school social workers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Child, family, and school social workers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).