May 2026 Events

Opportunities to Join the Child Welfare Workforce

Tomeko Brown

North Carolina is one of nine states in the United States that operates as a federally mandated, state supervised, county administered social services system. This means that social services (including child welfare services and adult services) receive funding and authorization of programs at the federal level. The state (Health and Human Services) provides oversight and support while each county agency is responsible for the delivery and administration of necessary services and benefits to children and families across the state.

Since 2015, North Carolina Child Welfare Services has been working on agency-wide improvements in areas such as service provision, family and youth leadership, staff development, and improving services and support for youth in out-of-home care. Throughout these past eight years, the state has witnessed many positive impacts in communities across the state as a result of these improvements. While county-child welfare agencies continue to raise their standard of care and professionalism in service to their communities, one of the most difficult challenges they face in recent times is staffing shortages. Across the state of North Carolina, many county child welfare agencies are working at less than full capacity staff levels, which leaves the workforce and community feeling the strain. In the field of social work, there are many unique opportunities to assist family members, children, and youth. Social workers help families to tap into their strengths and build resilient support networks to work through personal challenges and make their families safer and healthier. Honoring the principles such as “families are experts about themselves,” “judgements can wait,” and “everyone has strengths,” child welfare staff work tirelessly with families to keep them together, increase access to resources for parents and youth, and engage other community agencies to actively support overall family, child, and youth, wellness. If you or someone you know may be interested in joining the child welfare workforce, please take a look at what opportunities may be available to you here!  

For more information about child welfare jobs, visit the links below.

• https://www.ncdhhs.gov/childwelfareworks
• https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/social-services/about-dss/general-information 
• https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/services.pdf

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