How To Become A Family Preservation Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a family preservation worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Virginia Schwindt

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a family preservation worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.77 an hour? That's $43,208 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 family preservation worker?

Virginia Schwindt

MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University

Take the licensing test as soon as you are able to, and be open to where you work. It is great to want a specific population or employer, but being open to other experiences may be where God wants you to be. Don't limit yourself because, as a social worker, you can do so many different things.

ScoreFamily Preservation WorkerUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,208

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.51%

Asian 2.67%

Black or African American 13.37%

Hispanic or Latino 15.12%

Unknown 4.19%

White 63.14%

Gender

female 76.34%

male 23.66%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a family preservation worker

Explore family preservation worker education requirements

Most common family preservation worker degrees

Bachelor's

70.4 %

Master's

21.9 %

High School Diploma

3.6 %

Start to develop specific family preservation worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	24.69%
Crisis Intervention	12.02%
Child Welfare	9.46%
Child Protective	5.40%
Community Resources	5.31%

Complete relevant family preservation worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New family preservation workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a family preservation worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real family preservation worker resumes.

Research family preservation worker duties and responsibilities

Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
Provide information and support to transitioning foster youth during assessment, case planning or other permanency and transition-relate activities.
Perform related adoptions and supervisory visits for state adoptions.

Prepare your family preservation worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your family preservation worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a family preservation worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable family preservation worker resume templates

Build a professional family preservation worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your family preservation worker resume.

Apply for family preservation worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a family preservation 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 family preservation workers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Family preservation 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 Dec 2019

Pros

Serving people, impacting change in communities, never boring

Cons

pay is low for what you need to do

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.

What is a family preservation worker and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a family preservation worker?

Family preservation worker career paths

Key steps to become a family preservation worker

Explore family preservation worker education requirements

Most common family preservation worker degrees

Start to develop specific family preservation worker skills

Complete relevant family preservation worker training and internships

Research family preservation worker duties and responsibilities

Prepare your family preservation worker resume

Choose from 10+ customizable family preservation worker resume templates

Apply for family preservation worker jobs

How did you land your first family preservation worker job

Average family preservation worker salary

How do family preservation workers rate their job?

Family preservation worker reviews