Paid Placements in Social Work: Addressing Inequity and Student Well-Being

Financial Hardship and Its Impact on Student Well-Being

Social workers are often working with individuals experiencing emotional, physical, and financial hardship (Cox et al., 2022). Due to the nature of the field, including lower salaries and increased rates of student debt, there are many social workers themselves experiencing financial hardship (Aguilera et al., 2022; Cox et al., 2022; Gair & Baglow, 2018a, 2018b; Unrau et al., 2019). This financial hardship, exacerbated in social work programs due to the nature of unpaid placements and associated placement costs, negatively affects students’ health and well-being (Gair & Baglow, 2018a, 2018b; Hemy et al., 2016; Hodge et al., 2020; Howells, 2024; Payment 4 Placements, n.d.; Ryan et al., 2011). Students experience financial stressors in both their academic and personal lives due to the expectations of essentially full-time work (Aguilera et al., 2022; Gair & Baglow, 2018a, 2018b; Morley et al., 2023). Many students have to leave or reduce their hours in paid employment to fulfill placement hour requirements (Morley et al., 2023). Students reference that felt strain from this loss of income is exacerbated by associated costs, such as purchasing work-related clothing, finding transportation, and additional child care costs (Meadows et al., 2020; Morley et al., 2023).

Students report a need for paid work to offset program and placement costs (Howells, 2024; Ryan et al., 2011). Students report that this conflict negatively affects their studies and their overall well-being (Gair & Baglow, 2018a; Hemy et al., 2016; Howells, 2024; Ryan et al., 2011). Johnstone et al. (2016) found that among a sample of social work and human services students across six Australian universities, 67% had incurred a deficit in their budget due to their current studies and 47% had incurred debt. In relation to placement-specific stressors, 76% reported that field placement forced them to spend less time in paid employment, causing increased stress for 80% of respondents (Johnstone et al., 2016). The majority of the students (63%) reported feeling very tired and anxious in trying to balance paid work and placement (Johnstone et al., 2016). The student advocacy group Payment for Placements conducted a survey of 100 social work students at the University of Georgia and found that 85% reported that working an unpaid internship has harmed their mental health, as students are feeling overworked without proper compensation (Mather, 2023; Payment 4 Placements, n.d.). Many of these students identify feeling symptoms of burnout and struggling to manage their classes, placement, part-time jobs, and familial responsibilities (Mather, 2023). Attempting to manage these numerous responsibilities and roles is having a direct negative impact on the mental health of social work students (Mather, 2023).

Students have also reported increased financial stress related to paid employment, with some unable to work many hours in their paid employment due to their placement responsibilities (Howells, 2024; Johnstone et al., 2016) and others attempting to work increased hours in spite of the impact on their physical or mental well-being to address the deficit created by their unpaid placement (Gair & Baglow, 2018b). In the United States specifically, students are taking on more debt as the cost of education continues to rise (Carreon, 2023; Unrau et al., 2019). Yet many students indicate a lack of financial understanding on this debt. Unrau et al. (2019) found that among 357 American social work students, 76% had accumulated student loan debt and approximately one third of the respondents reported a lack of awareness about the cost of the degree.

The concern for the well-being of social workers is related to the inherent stress that social workers take on in caring for vulnerable populations. Exacerbated by the stress caused by mostly unpaid placements, social work students are entering the field after years of financial hardship (Gair & Baglow, 2018a, 2018b). Considine et al. (2019) even found that students are not enjoying their placements due to their financial-related anxiety and associated academic stress. This ultimately harms the learning experience and creates an environment that is antithetical to the values and purpose of the social work profession (Aguilera et al., 2022; Hodge et al., 2020). There is a clear disconnect between the values of the profession and the associated financial and health costs of unpaid placements (Gair & Baglow, 2018a).

Inequity and Social Justice in Social Work Programs

Social work, at its core, is a field dedicated to the pursuit of social justice. Addressing social inequities, through advocacy, casework, and clinical care, is fundamental and part of NASW’s ethical mandate (NASW, 2021). Fostering diverse perspectives in the field is necessary to have a culturally competent profession. Part of this advocacy includes the fight for economic justice (Aguilera et al., 2022). Yet unpaid field placements are likely contributing to homogeneity and further stratification in the field, as many individuals are unable to take on the financial burden of unpaid placements. Unpaid placements place an undue burden on students from historically and systematically oppressed communities (Aguilera et al., 2022; Howells, 2024). Additional consideration should be paid to the number of social workers who have additional responsibilities or identities that further affect their financial hardship (Hodge et al., 2024; Morley et al., 2023; Unrau et al., 2019). For example, Unrau et al. (2019) found that students struggling financially in programs were more likely to be single parents, non-white, or first-generation students. They also found that these students were more likely to have been through the child welfare and protective system or to have been previously homeless (Unrau et al., 2019).

In addition to exacerbating inequity of opportunity, these unpaid placements “also socialize students into a workplace culture that legitimates expectations for unremunerated work” (Carreon, 2023, p. 15). Social workers in the field are often expected to work through meal breaks, on days off, or after hours, most of which is unpaid (Carreon, 2023; Howells, 2024). By establishing standards by which only certain students are able to participate in the field, and by extension fostering the notion that social work is a field in which one is expected to live with financial hardship, social work is contributing to its own devaluation and preventing diversification of its workforce (Carreon, 2023; Howells, 2024).

Recommendation 1: Increase Flexibility in Current Placement Approaches

Increased flexibility in how placements are undertaken would address some elements of the current inequity in social work programs. For example, a greater provision of hours for prior learning or advanced standing could address the needs of students who have long-standing experience in the field (Johnstone et al., 2016). In addition, allowing and encouraging students to complete their placements at their places of paid employment can decrease financial burden, especially for students who are financially responsible for their families (Carreon, 2023; Dolson & Deemer, 2020; Hodge et al., 2020; Johnstone et al., 2016). Programs can support students in navigating their employment needs with their academic and placement responsibilities, perhaps implementing individual meetings addressing these potential conflicts as part of students’ placement selection process. A reduction in placement hours—matching the minimum requirement of the CSWE—can also decrease the additional burden placed on students in programs that have higher hour requirements (Johnstone et al., 2016). Another area in which social work programs could have increased flexibility is in curriculum design and delivery, ensuring that academic responsibilities are not overly burdensome while students are in field placements (Johnstone et al., 2016). For example, considering how virtual placements and simulated placement tools can be used could increase accessibility and address transportation and other placement-specific costs (Harris & Newcomb, 2023).

Recommendation 2: Paid Placements and Addressing Related Costs

Paid placements would decrease the felt financial burden in social work programs (Hodge et al., 2020; Johnstone et al., 2016). This will allow students the opportunity to focus on their placement and academic responsibilities (Hodge et al., 2020; Johnstone et al., 2016; Unrau et al., 2019). The Payment for Placements movement has expanded to over three dozen schools of social work (Arrojas, 2023). They argue that creative funding strategies will help fund paid placements as agencies may not be able to fund paid placements for students (Aguilera et al., 2022, Payment 4 Placements, n.d.). These strategies could include “private donors, university endowments, grants, and public appropriations like the federal work-study program” (Carreon, 2023, p. 16). The University of Michigan’s School of Social Work’s student–faculty commission worked with the Michigan chapter of the NASW to support state legislation funding public school social work students in addition to establishing a fund to privately fund placements (Carreon, 2023; University of Michigan School of Social Work, 2022). Legislation is also being introduced in Texas that would establish stipends for both undergraduate and graduate social work students to use during field placement (Mares, 2024). Increased coalition building among the NASW, the CSWE, individual social work programs, and advocacy organizations such as Payment for Placements is necessary to further identify funding and allocation strategies for paid placements.

There are other approaches to integrating education and hands-on skills in workplace settings that could be adapted to the social work model. Examples include degree apprenticeships in the United Kingdom—in which employers invest in students via a levy—and cooperative education (co-op) programs—in which students are able to receive both payment and academic credit for a 3- to 6-month work-related experience (Drexel University, 2024; Quew-Jones, 2023). Both of these approaches provide students with financial compensation and support in the academic setting, helping students complete their academic coursework while decreasing financial precarity (Drexel University, 2024; Quew-Jones, 2023).

In addition, it is important to understand the hidden costs related to placement, such as transportation costs, child care costs, debt associated with cost of living needs, and time off from paid work (Caldararu, 2019; Johnstone et al., 2016). Schools can attempt to mitigate these costs through certain programs. For example, universities can provide subsidized child care on campus for social work students with children to minimize child care costs (Navarro-Cruz et al., 2022; Palmer, 2024). Schools can also consider providing subsidies or vouchers for nearby child care facilities (Navarro-Cruz et al., 2022; Palmer, 2024). Palmer (2024) identifies numerous state policies that have attempted to address this disproportionate burden on student parents, including providing grants (Minnesota and North Carolina) and changing required work hours for child care subsidies (Oregon and Washington). Universities will need to gather feedback from students to understand student need and address current gaps (Palmer, 2024).

Finally, it would benefit students to have increased financial literacy to understand the full scope of their educational decisions (Spector & Infante, 2020; Unrau et al., 2019). Approximately one third of the respondents in Unrau et al.’s (2019) study reported a lack of awareness about the cost of the degree. There is a clear need to address this limited understanding in social work programs. Unrau et al. (2019) recommend both financial literacy and management skills as part of the basic support services offered to BSW and MSW students. This would be beneficial in supporting students’ long-term financial understanding and addressing the disparity in student knowledge that may be stemming from the existing stratification among social work students (Aguilera et al., 2022).

Recommendation 3: Regulations for Protecting Social Work Students

By establishing regulations or re-classifying social work graduate students as workers, students will have more protections in their placement settings (Howells, 2024). Student workers classified as interns are often not eligible for employee rights and protections in the workplace (International Labour Organization, 2018; US Department of Labor, 2018). As noted, the CSWE Education—the accreditor for social work programs—has previously argued against students being categorized as employees as students do not yet meet the requirements or competencies for these positions (Alonso, 2023). However, students are often expected to maintain clinical caseloads and fulfill gaps in their placement sites, essentially filling the role of an employee (Alonso, 2023; Howells, 2024). Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a primary beneficiary test is used to determine if students are considered employees, identifying whom the primary beneficiary is of the employer–employee relationship (US Department of Labor, 2018). Although social work graduate students are required to complete placement as part of their academic program—and are learning how to provide social work services through their placements that will ultimately prepare them for the workforce—reframing this relationship as mutually beneficial and acknowledging the employer and agency benefit would increase protections for social work interns (Howells, 2024; US Department of Labor, 2018). For example, some countries—including Argentina, Brazil, and France—have established tripartite agreements between students, universities, and host organizations to ensure students are able to be treated as employees, giving them access to such protections as a minimum wage, overtime pay, and a maximum set number of work hours (Howells, 2024). An additional recommendation could include a “Code of Practice,” as developed in the work by Howells (2024). This Code would include the mentioned protections and break requirements as well as a grievance process for students (Howells, 2024). By establishing these protections—either through a change to the Fair Labor Standards Act definition or by creating a separate Code of Practice for social work students—student interns will have a more fair contract with their placement sites.