May 1st, 2022
How to Work in Social Work with Refugees
Thousands of refugees seek asylum in the United States each year. Fleeing religious, ethnic, social, or political persecution, they land on our shores in search of a better life. As the U.S. prepares to welcome a wave of refugees from Ukraine, skilled social workers will be needed to help them settle in a new and unfamiliar country. Whether you’ve always intended to work in social services or if this recent crisis has you rethinking your life’s meaning, working with refugees can be rewarding and impactful. Here’s how to start your journey:
Enroll in an Undergraduate Social Work Program
To become a licensed social worker, you’ll first need to attain your bachelor’s degree. You can get a degree in social work or study in a related field. For example, a psychology degree program would help you better understand how the human mind works and what might lead someone to seek social services.
Before you specialize on a refugee population, a variety of social work courses can teach you about human behavior, culturally diverse populations, social welfare programs, intervention procedures, and ethics in the field. This knowledge base will be critical as you begin and progress in your career. A degree will prepare you for a generalist practice as a professional social worker.
Learn a Second Language
While it isn’t necessary to speak multiple languages to be a social worker, it certainly helps to speak the language of your predominate clients. For example, if your native language is English and you want to work with refugees coming from Ukraine, the ability to speak their language can prove invaluable. It will help your clients and also make you an asset to your team. However, since most U.S. immigrants come from Mexico, learning Spanish would be a better choice than learning Ukrainian.
Gain Field Experience in Social Work
As part of your social work degree program, you will likely be required to do a supervised field practicum. The experience gives you the opportunity to apply what you learn in the classroom to real-world scenarios, while earning credit toward your degree. Field work allows you to learn under the guidance of an instructor who can help you become adept at assessing and communicating with clients of all backgrounds. Additionally, this is your opportunity to focus on the kind of social work you want to practice. The social work profession has more than 50 fields you can enter including healthcare, public health, services to families and children, anti-poverty programs, domestic violence, school counseling, nursing home, hospice, substance abuse counseling, mental health—and immigration. To gain experience in immigration social work, consider conducting your field work with a human services organization, a nonprofit organization that specializes in housing, counseling centers, or with community programs focused on children, immigrants, or refugees.
Earn Your Social Work License
Although licensing requirements vary by state, passing the national exam administered by the Association of Social Work Boards can affirm your knowledge and help advance your career prospects.
Become an Immigration Social Worker
If you want to work with a refugee population, your focus will be immigration social work. You can find entry-level work and begin to hone your skills helping individuals and families through the obstacles they may face as they settle in a new country. Among the areas where you will need to be your clients’ advocate are:
- Resettlement and housing
- Finding financial resources
- Crisis intervention
- Child welfare and protection
- Securing legal documentation
- Translating legal, educational, and financial documents
As an immigration social worker, you would also advocate for policies to protect refugees and stand up for them when they face discrimination in their new communities. But you do not need to focus exclusively on immigration to help refugees as a social worker. For example, as a school social worker, you may help refugee children enter and navigate the school system. Working in healthcare, you may also find a large population of immigrants. There are many ways to help refugees.
Earn a Master’s Degree in Social Work
Although you may find entry-level social work with only a bachelor’s degree, clinical social work will require a master’s degree. Your graduate studies will build on what you already know, delving more deeply into the field of social work. They should teach you about social justice and the injustices that diverse cultural populations face. You will learn how to better diagnose and assess your clients and the legal and ethical issues that affect your profession.
Get Involved in Your Community
Courses and fieldwork are not the only way to gain experience. You can also get involved in community initiatives that can help you develop as a professional and help refugees at the same time. Volunteer with local nonprofits, such as a branch of the International Rescue Committee, that assist refugees and immigrants. You could help refugees become digitally literate, tutor a child, or donate goods that refugees can use. There is a lot of work to do, and you can find a position that matches your expertise and your passion.
Are you ready to help the vulnerable populations in your community? Contact Limestone University today. We offer social work degrees that will provide you with the skills you need to make your dream of helping others a reality.
Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.)
Social workers help people cope with everyday problems. They may provide services such as advocacy, crisis response, and connecting clients with resources. Social Workers address societal ills by understanding and addressing problems in functioning that can occur with people, systems, as well as with the interactions between systems and people.
Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
The MSW provides the opportunity to serve others beyond the BSW level. All social workers are passionate with regard to social justice. With the MSW degree, social workers can carry that passion to the classroom through teaching, as well as, positions in school social work, the mental health community, and positions with the criminal justice field.
