Child, Family, and School Social Workers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 32% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 44% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 55% of the time, stays with people.
Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.
392,550 people do this job in the US. $59,550 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work13 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet5 h
- Stays with people22 h
Child, Family, and School Social Workers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 13 hours become checking its work, 5 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 22 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Keep case records and reports (about 5 h, a person checks); Develop and review service plans (about 2 h, a person checks); Gather client records (about 1 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 35%
- 10%
- 12%
- 43%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 32% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 20%. Today's estimate: 32%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.042% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 237th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 21 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0064% to 0.0075% (released February and March 2025); 0.009% to 0.012% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.034% to 0.042% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0064% | 580 of 708 | 2 of 21 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0075% | 540 of 703 | 3 of 21 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.009% | 465 of 655 | 2 of 21 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.012% | 450 of 672 | 3 of 21 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.012% | 468 of 677 | 3 of 21 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.034% | 252 of 434 | 1 of 21 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.042% | 237 of 447 | 2 of 21 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
54% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Counsel individuals and families, the in-person work, 7%
- Develop and review service plans, the in-person work, 5%
- Interview and assess clients, the in-person work, 5%
- Place children in homes and care, the in-person work, 5%
- Consult parents and teachers, the in-person work, 5%
- Liaise for children among agencies, the conversation, 5%
What becomes checking the machine
44% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Keep case records and reports, severe if wrong, 13%
- Conduct social research, costly if wrong, 12%
- Develop and review service plans, severe if wrong, 5%
- Gather client records, costly if wrong, 4%
- Counsel students and arrange services, severe if wrong, 2%
- Testify and assist in custody hearings, severe if wrong, 2%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- The conversations. About 55% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Handling protected records. Much of the work touches protected personal records: knowing what may be shared with a model, and how, is part of the job.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 35% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 21 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conduct social research.Reading, analysis and writing.Done yearly or less by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 13% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 2.5 work weeks | Documents 100% | 6%Half by Feb 2028 |
| Maintain case history records and prepare reports.Case notes in the system and the written reports.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 99%Half by now |
| Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.The plan written with the client, and follow up visits.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| 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.Counseling sessions in person.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.Sessions with the student, then the plan and referrals written.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | In person 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.Interviews in person, with the assessment written up.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | In person 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.Taking the child to the placement, with the arrangements by phone and the paperwork.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.6 work days | In person 60%, documents 20%, conversation 20% | 18%Desk part half by now |
| Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.Meetings at the school with parents and staff.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 2.1 h | In person 70%, conversation 30% | Stays with people |
| 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.Calls and meetings among the school, the family, the courts and the clinics.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | Conversation 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.Sitting down with the family.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.Court appearances and the reports behind them.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | In person 60%, documents 40% | 37%Desk part half by now |
| Collect supplementary information needed to assist client, such as employment records, medical records, or school reports.Requesting and reading records from employers, doctors and schools.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Documents 60%, systems 40% | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Healthcare Social Workers32% now, 50% by 2028
- Marriage and Family Therapists32% now, 35% by 2028
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers27% now, 43% by 2028
- Rehabilitation Counselors64% now, 64% by 2028
- Social and Human Service Assistants24% now, 24% by 2028
- Social and Community Service Managers36% now, 51% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Child, Family, and School Social Workers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 32% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 44% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (38% to 45% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Child, Family, and School Social Workers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Keep case records and reports (99% of the task's time now); Develop and review service plans (50% of the task's time now); and Gather client records (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Child, Family, and School Social Workers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Counsel individuals and families; Consult parents and teachers; and Liaise for children among agencies. Together such tasks are about 26% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Child, Family, and School Social Workers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; the conversations; and reviewing work you did not do yourself. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 54% of the working time stays with people, 44% becomes checking a model's work and 0% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Child, Family, and School Social Workers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.042% went to this job's tasks, the 237th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 21 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 1%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Child, Family, and School Social Workers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 21 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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