How To Become A Criminal Justice Social Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a criminal justice social worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Debra Minsky-Kelly

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a criminal justice social worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.99 an hour? That's $51,984 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 64,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a criminal justice social worker?

Debra Minsky-Kelly

Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College

I think there are two critical skills for social workers, whether they are first entering the workforce or seasoned professionals. These skills are humility and an appreciation for ambiguity in our work. A humble approach to our work empowers clients to become experts on their circumstances. Social workers are then positioned in a collaborative role to help clients use existing skills and resources to improve their situations. An appreciation for ambiguity is closely related to the idea of humility. It helps us to remember that practice situations we face in this field are often far more complicated than they appear on the surface. Thus, all social workers need to make a strong commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing consultation with colleagues to ensure that multiple perspectives are included as we work to solve complex problems.

ScoreCriminal Justice Social WorkerUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $51,984

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 4.95%

Black or African American 13.94%

Hispanic or Latino 18.49%

Unknown 4.13%

White 57.78%

Gender

female 50.85%

male 49.15%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Key steps to become a criminal justice social worker

Explore criminal justice social worker education requirements

Most common criminal justice social worker degrees

Bachelor's

46.7 %

Master's

20.0 %

Associate

17.8 %

Start to develop specific criminal justice social worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	77.08%
Criminal Justice	22.87%
Social Justice	0.06%

Research criminal justice social worker duties and responsibilities

Case manage in-district and out-of-district students with emotional disabilities, autism, other health impair and physical disabilities.
Provide overall assistance to undergraduate students in regards to core studies, scheduling, testing, projects, etc.
Coordinate admissions of active duty service members and veterans to the inpatient rehabilitation/medical unit after suffering a new spinal cord injury.
Integrate a therapeutic/clinical model base on of DBT that support student academic, behavioral and social success.

Apply for criminal justice social worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a criminal justice social worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do criminal justice social workers rate their job?

-/5

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Criminal justice social worker reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Pros

Working collaboratively with clients to help them understand themselves and experience their authentic selves. Learning from my clients.

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

I work for myself in my private practice as a Clinical Social Worker and Couples Therapist. I love the work that I do with teens and adults to help them overcome their issues in life.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019

Pros

Working with people, making people happy and feel cared for

Cons

Hours and very little salary

What is a criminal justice social worker and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a criminal justice social worker?

Key steps to become a criminal justice social worker

Explore criminal justice social worker education requirements

Most common criminal justice social worker degrees

Start to develop specific criminal justice social worker skills

Research criminal justice social worker duties and responsibilities

Apply for criminal justice social worker jobs

How did you land your first criminal justice social worker job

Average criminal justice social worker salary

How do criminal justice social workers rate their job?

Criminal justice social worker reviews