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Community & Social Services · Updated Aug 2026

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
62/100
High

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
58/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence80/100
Task coverage81%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.High
67
Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.High
63
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.High
58
Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.High
54
Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.High
54
Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.Medium
67
Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.High
73
Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.High
58
Counsel individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding issues including mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, physical abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, child care, or medical care.Medium
55
Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.High
72
Refer clients to community resources for services, such as job placement, debt counseling, legal aid, housing, medical treatment, or financial assistance, and provide concrete information, such as where to go and how to apply.High
55
Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.High
73
Evaluate personal characteristics and home conditions of foster home or adoption applicants.High
72
Provide, find, or arrange for support services, such as child care, homemaker service, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counseling, or parenting classes to prevent more serious problems from developing.Medium
62
Recommend temporary foster care and advise foster or adoptive parents.High
72
Lead group counseling sessions that provide support in such areas as grief, stress, or chemical dependency.Medium
57
Serve on policy-making committees, assist in community development, and assist client groups by lobbying for solutions to problems.Medium
64
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.73
  2. Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.73
  3. Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures.72
  4. Evaluate personal characteristics and home conditions of foster home or adoption applicants.72
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.01
  2. Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.02
  3. Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.03
  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.04
  5. Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency55
Physical dependency33
Adoption pressure61
Labour-market resilience66
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence80/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →