Medical social worker vs foster care worker

The differences between medical social workers and foster care workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a medical social worker, becoming a foster care worker takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a medical social worker has an average salary of $57,093, which is higher than the $46,037 average annual salary of a foster care worker.

The top three skills for a medical social worker include social work, patients and home health. The most important skills for a foster care worker are foster care, social work, and child abuse.

Medical social worker vs foster care worker overview

	Medical Social Worker	Foster Care Worker
Yearly salary	$57,093	$46,037
Hourly rate	$27.45	$22.13
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	87,792	151,625
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	45	42
Years of experience	2	4

What does a medical social worker do?

A medical social worker specializes in managing a patient's health care and welfare while communicating with guardians or families, focusing on helping them cope and understand the medical conditions and situations. They are primarily responsible for assessing a patient's condition to identify their needs, conducting interviews to gather background information regarding the patient and family, and referring any social service programs that may provide them with the assistance or help they need. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify any signs of abuse or neglect and conduct intervention procedures right away.

What does a foster care worker do?

A Foster Care Worker helps improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families as well as increases the family's well-being and the academic functioning of children. They counsel families about issues regarding their child's care and develop healthy living situations.

Medical social worker vs foster care worker salary

Medical social workers and foster care workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Social Worker	Foster Care Worker
Average salary	$57,093	$46,037
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $77,000	Between $32,000 And $65,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	Alaska	New Jersey
Best paying company	Health Advocates	Riverview Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	Construction

Differences between medical social worker and foster care worker education

There are a few differences between a medical social worker and a foster care worker in terms of educational background:

	Medical Social Worker	Foster Care Worker
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Social Work	Social Work
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Boston University

Medical social worker vs foster care worker demographics

Here are the differences between medical social workers' and foster care workers' demographics:

	Medical Social Worker	Foster Care Worker
Average age	45	42
Gender ratio	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%	Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	13%	10%

Differences between medical social worker and foster care worker duties and responsibilities

Medical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Humanize the medical setting for elderly patients by using appropriate compassion in explaining complex information.
Provide crisis intervention, supportive counseling and trauma/grief counseling for patients and their families experiencing acute or chronic traumatic events.
Provide hands-on assessment and monitoring of suspect child abuse and neglect cases of children needing intensive rehabilitation and specialize care.
Provide social casework to patients having difficulty in social functioning, primarily as it affects their health and emotional rehabilitation.
Facilitate family counseling, crisis intervention, and assessments of specials population including geriatrics, homeless and substance abusing veterans.

Foster care worker example responsibilities.

Conduct unscheduled regular school visits to attain records of attendance, suspensions, IEP, and treatment plans.
Manage to write progress note, complete FASP's and input information on PROMIS on a timely manner.
Manage caseload of 18 23 children and adolescents in DSS custody due to abuse, neglect and criminal activity.
Manage a caseload of families with children in DSS custody awaiting return home to family of origin base upon progress make.
Lead presentation and training sessions to community and inter-agency groups.
Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.

Medical social worker vs foster care worker skills

Common medical social worker skills

Social Work, 24%
Patients, 19%
Home Health, 11%
MSW, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Crisis Intervention, 3%

Common foster care worker skills

Foster Care, 26%
Social Work, 19%
Child Abuse, 7%
Social Services, 6%
Foster Children, 5%
Community Resources, 4%

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Medical Social Worker
Medical Social Worker vs Foster Care Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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