Social workers touch millions of lives each year. Their jobs are also very difficult—they run around town and communicate with a variety of people, all with little to no support.
Below we list six free mobile apps that can help make their jobs easier and make them more successful in serving their communities.
Reddit is a popular site that bills itself as the “front page of the internet.” But you may be surprised to learn that within Reddit is a community dedicated to social work with over 26,000 members.
r/socialwork is a great place to engage in meaningful discussions with other social workers and keep up with the latest social work news.
Reddit is an anonymous platform, so you can be open and honest with your questions and feedback.
The ability to communicate is paramount for social workers to successfully help those they serve, and not all the people they serve speak fluent English. Thankfully, there is Google Translate!
This mobile app can translate text, handwriting, and voice, and can play back in text or voice. And with the camera mode, you can focus on a document and let the app translate it in its entirety.
Think of it like a personal translator for 60 languages right in your pocket!
3. The Savvy Social Worker
Available on Android
Want to stay current in the world of evidence-based practices? The Savvy Social Worker, developed by the University of Buffalo School of Social Work, is an e-news reader that allows social workers to stay up to date with the latest and best practices in the field.
The app pulls together resources from many sources, such as the SAMHSA, the Cochrane US Network, the Campbell Collaboration, and Information for Patience.
The app takes a little time to pick up, but it is one of the only apps developed specifically for social workers and contains a treasure trove of knowledge.
If you haven’t heard of Waze yet, how do you possibly drive without getting lost?!
Waze is one of the most popular GPS navigation apps in the world. Think of it as social navigation—the app collects information from millions of drivers and uses in real time to help you find the most optimal route to your destination.
It is extremely easy to use, yet rich in features. You can favorite common destinations for quick access, see what time of day offers the fastest route, share your ETA, use voice input and directions to minimize distractions, sync to your calendar events, and (if you like to run your tank down to the fumes) always find the nearest gas station.
This unique app provides easy access to public safety information for the neighborhoods you select. It offers a news feed and alerts from public safety organizations in those areas.
Also, you can view law enforcement records such as jail bookings, most wanted lists, sex offenders, arrest warrants, child custody warrants, and missing children. You can even report incidents to law enforcement right in the app!
Depending on the technology used by your social work agency and your relationship with local law enforcement, this app could be crucial in helping you stay informed on the children and families you serve.
Obviously we are a little biased here, but we truly believe that our mobile app will change the way team-based social workers deliver services.
Our HIPAA-compliant solution enables the easy creation and management of multi-disciplinary teams for the specific purpose of helping those teams collaborate better, so that the children and families they serve can achieve positive outcomes.
Create goals and milestones, assign them to team members, and get real-time feedback on progress. Respond quickly to potential crisis situations with group messaging. Engage clients in their own treatment plans and include family and natural supports in the care team.
This app will finally allow multi-disciplinary care teams to spend less time tracking down what happened and talking about their clients and more time engaging with them.
