Presence of social workers in nongovernment organizations

This study investigated the job categories full-time social workers occupy in 20 international nongovernment organizations (NGOs). Social workers holding BSW or higher degrees account for 95 percent of the program director and coordinator positions, indicating that now there may be greater use of these professionals. But non-social workers filled 83 percent of the direct services positions. Also disconcerting was the small representation of social workers in administration and development. Thus, social workers are used in program coordination, but underused in leadership and services provision. Organizational resources and programs, when linked to larger annual budgets, may indicate an NGO's ability to provide specialized direct services using social work expertise.