AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 21-1021.00

Will AI replace Child, Family, and School Social Workers?

Child, Family, and School Social Workers: AI can already handle 7 of 21 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 21 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Child, Family, and School Social Workers, from most to least exposed. 7 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Maintain case history records and prepare reports. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Counsel individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding issues including mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, physical abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, child care, or medical care. 74 Observed Frontier 4.0
Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs. 65 Estimated Standard 4.5
Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided. 65 Estimated Standard 4.3
Evaluate personal characteristics and home conditions of foster home or adoption applicants. 65 Estimated Standard 4.2
Recommend temporary foster care and advise foster or adoptive parents. 60 Estimated Frontier 4.5
Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions. 60 Estimated Standard 4.2
Provide, find, or arrange for support services, such as child care, homemaker service, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counseling, or parenting classes to prevent more serious problems from developing. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Serve on policy-making committees, assist in community development, and assist client groups by lobbying for solutions to problems. 50 Estimated Standard 3.7
Refer clients to community resources for services, such as job placement, debt counseling, legal aid, housing, medical treatment, or financial assistance, and provide concrete information, such as where to go and how to apply. 40 Observed Efficient 4.0
Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers. 30 Estimated Standard 4.7
Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty. 30 Estimated Standard 4.4
Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements. 30 Estimated Standard 4.2
Arrange for medical, psychiatric, and other tests that may disclose causes of difficulties and indicate remedial measures. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Conduct social research. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Supervise other social workers. 30 Estimated Standard 4.0
Lead group counseling sessions that provide support in such areas as grief, stress, or chemical dependency. 30 Estimated Standard 3.8
Determine clients' eligibility for financial assistance. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.4

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 2 of 21 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 19 of 21. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A standard-tier model or lower covers 90% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
392,550
Median annual wage
$59,550
Middle half of earners
$48,270 to $76,070
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+3.4%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Child, Family, and School Social Workers and AI

Will AI replace Child, Family, and School Social Workers?

AI already handles 7 of the 21 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 45 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +3.4% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Child, Family, and School Social Workers?

45 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 2 of the 21 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 19 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Child, Family, and School Social Workers tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Maintain case history records and prepare reports; Counsel individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding issues including mental health, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, physical abuse, rehabilitation, social adjustment, child care, or medical care; Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs. They are three of the 7 tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 90% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Child, Family, and School Social Workers, and what do they earn?

392,550 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $59,550 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +3.4% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Child, Family, and School Social Workers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/child-family-and-school-social-workers

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