InfoGuides: Vocational Rehabilitation Library Toolkit: Social Work

Career Exploration: Social Work

A selection of online resources to help clients research, learn about, and prepare for careers in the social work occupations listed below.

Direct Support Professional

Videos: Career Overviews and "Day in the Life" Summaries

Webpages

National Alliance For Direct Support Professionals (NADSP): Resources
Description: "...Resources to assist direct support professionals, people receiving services, family members, human service organizations, state/national associations, and more. These include guides, reports, toolkits, and more that cover a variety of topics related to the direct support professional workforce."
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Home Health and Personal Care Aides
Description: "Home health and personal care aides monitor the condition of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and help them with daily living activities."
QualityInfo: Personal Care Aides (399021)
Description: "Assist the elderly, convalescents, or persons with disabilities with daily living activities at the person's home or in a care facility. Duties performed at a place of residence may include keeping house (making beds, doing laundry, washing dishes) and preparing meals. May provide assistance at non-residential care facilities. May advise families, the elderly, convalescents, and persons with disabilities regarding such things as nutrition, cleanliness, and household activities. "

Job Coach

Videos: Career Overviews and "Day in the Life" Summaries

Webpages

Job Coaches (Job Accommodation Network)
Information about job coaches, from an introduction to publications and articles, and other information.
What Is a Job Coach? (Indeed)
Information from the Indeed Editorial Team about job coaches. Includes an overview of what job coaches do, requirements, skills needed, career outlook, and more.
Sabra Supports People with Disabilities as a PSW Job Coach
A brief success story interview with Sabra about her career as a Personal Support Worker (PSW) Job Coach. Includes links to information about PSW Job Coaches.

Peer Support Specialist

Videos: Career Overviews and "Day in the Life" Summaries

(The first 6 videos are short introductions to peer support careers; the last 6 videos are longer webinars that go into more detail.)

Webpages

Peer Support Specialist (PSS) (Oregon Health Authority)
Information from the Oregon Health Authority's Office of Equity & Inclusion about how to become a certified Peer Support Specialist.
How to Become a Peer Support Specialist (PSS) or Peer Wellness Specialist (PWS) (Oregon Health Authority)
Information from the Oregon Health Authority's Health Systems Division about how to become a certified Peer Support Specialist or Peer Wellness Specialist.
Community Health Worker (CHW) (Oregon Health Authority)
Information from the Oregon Health Authority's Office of Equity & Inclusion about how to become a certified Community Health Worker.
Peer Support Specialist (Career Outlook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
A description of peer support specialists and the work they do from Allen Chen at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (October 2017).
Oregon Community Health Workers Association
Description: "The Oregon Community Health Workers Association (ORCHWA) is the statewide professional association for community health workers (CHWs)."
Oregon Peer Delivered Services Coalition
Description: "The Oregon Peer Delivered Services Coalition (OPDSCo) brings together individuals and agencies vested in the successful delivery of peer practices and the advancement of the peer workforce statewide."
National Association of Peer Supporters
Description: "The National Association of Peer Supporters (N.A.P.S.) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, which started with a small group of peer support specialists in Michigan... Members of this network come together to share their ideas and innovations, exchange resources and information, and provide unified consensus concerning issues affecting peer supporter communities."

Personal Support Worker

Videos: Career Overviews and "Day in the Life" Summaries

Webpages

Learn About Being a Caregiver (Indeed)
Information from Indeed about caregivers (personal support workers). Includes an overview of what caregivers do, requirements, skills needed, and more.
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Home Health and Personal Care Aides
Description: "Home health and personal care aides monitor the condition of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and help them with daily living activities."
QualityInfo: Personal Care Aides (399021)
Description: "Assist the elderly, convalescents, or persons with disabilities with daily living activities at the person's home or in a care facility. Duties performed at a place of residence may include keeping house (making beds, doing laundry, washing dishes) and preparing meals. May provide assistance at non-residential care facilities. May advise families, the elderly, convalescents, and persons with disabilities regarding such things as nutrition, cleanliness, and household activities. "