Your work. Your records.
Mental Health Social Worker Workplace Records
Mental health and substance-use social work involves assessment, coordination and ongoing records. An employment concern should focus on who assigned the work and what response followed your workplace report. Keep client conditions and treatment histories separate from the personal account of your employment experience.
Call now(800) 800-5555Free initial case evaluation. Representation depends on work state and case eligibility. This guide explains record preparation; it does not determine whether a legal claim exists.
A record map for your role
What to organize first
Role outline
Identify the employer, supervising role and responsibilities involved without client names or diagnoses.
Workload change
Record changes in sessions or documentation duties and the date you requested support.
Employment sequence
Connect your workplace report with the response and later action, leaving care records separate.
Start with the work you actually do
Assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Activities may include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (21-1023.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.Source task 273 · updated 08/2021
- Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.Source task 275 · updated 08/2021
- Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.Source task 276 · updated 08/2021
- Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.Source task 18487 · updated 08/2021
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (SOC 21-1023). These describe an occupation across employers. They are not a required pay rate, an overtime calculation, or evidence of discrimination or unpaid wages.
Select your work state to see its published pay range. No personal pay information is requested or sent.
The 25th and 75th percentiles mark the middle half of the estimated wage distribution; the median is its midpoint. Actual pay can differ with experience, employer, location and duties. Hourly and annual figures are shown as published, without converting one into the other.
All published state estimates for this occupation
| State | Hourly 25th | Hourly median | Hourly 75th | Annual median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $17.18 | $19.95 | $26.75 | $41,500 |
| Alaska | $23.77 | $27.26 | $33.02 | $56,710 |
| Arizona | $21.64 | $22.30 | $26.19 | $46,380 |
| Arkansas | $20.49 | $28.17 | $35.23 | $58,590 |
| Connecticut | $29.95 | $37.81 | $44.44 | $78,640 |
| Delaware | $24.63 | $28.88 | $32.74 | $60,060 |
| Florida | $21.37 | $24.80 | $29.83 | $51,590 |
| Georgia | $21.68 | $25.02 | $34.85 | $52,030 |
| Hawaii | $22.70 | $26.15 | $37.35 | $54,390 |
| Idaho | $22.00 | $25.25 | $36.50 | $52,520 |
| Indiana | $20.47 | $23.22 | $31.06 | $48,300 |
| Iowa | $21.46 | $23.33 | $31.82 | $48,530 |
| Kansas | $23.55 | $27.08 | $31.87 | $56,330 |
| Kentucky | $17.90 | $20.46 | $23.45 | $42,570 |
| Louisiana | $17.49 | $22.64 | $29.89 | $47,100 |
| Maine | $22.95 | $27.43 | $37.33 | $57,050 |
| Michigan | $24.11 | $29.25 | $35.75 | $60,830 |
| Minnesota | $28.89 | $36.07 | $41.34 | $75,020 |
| Mississippi | $16.20 | $23.55 | $30.06 | $48,970 |
| Missouri | $20.84 | $23.83 | $28.46 | $49,560 |
| Montana | $19.12 | $21.71 | $28.77 | $45,160 |
| Nebraska | $17.90 | $20.79 | $24.95 | $43,240 |
| New Hampshire | $28.28 | $30.72 | $37.22 | $63,900 |
| New Mexico | $21.57 | $31.56 | $41.42 | $65,640 |
| New York | $30.98 | $38.16 | $45.92 | $79,380 |
| North Carolina | $23.15 | $27.98 | $32.43 | $58,210 |
| North Dakota | $28.26 | $29.32 | $31.30 | $60,980 |
| Ohio | $18.35 | $22.16 | $27.87 | $46,080 |
| Oklahoma | $18.19 | $20.73 | $21.83 | $43,120 |
| Pennsylvania | $21.06 | $23.21 | $28.30 | $48,290 |
| Rhode Island | $23.72 | $29.32 | $52.99 | $60,990 |
| South Dakota | $21.28 | $23.52 | $29.76 | $48,920 |
| Tennessee | $20.57 | $22.36 | $26.59 | $46,500 |
| Texas | $19.75 | $22.42 | $27.56 | $46,630 |
| Utah | $20.21 | $24.41 | $38.24 | $50,770 |
| Vermont | $31.27 | $35.20 | $39.37 | $73,210 |
| Virginia | $25.78 | $30.89 | $38.65 | $64,240 |
| West Virginia | $22.73 | $24.07 | $27.81 | $50,070 |
| Wisconsin | $23.91 | $29.74 | $36.23 | $61,860 |
| Wyoming | $23.93 | $28.51 | $40.07 | $59,310 |
“Not published” preserves unavailable or suppressed source cells. “Above reporting limit” preserves a top-coded source value without inventing a number. A missing state estimate does not establish service eligibility. The data describe wage and salary employment; they do not measure self-employment income.
Source: BLS May 2025 state workbook · OEWS tables · BLS technical notes. Use your own schedule, pay statement and compensation terms to identify the question you want reviewed.
Describe supervision and responsibility
Identify the general service setting, your assigned role and who approved changes to workload or programs. If feedback refers to a care decision, describe the instruction and your response without reproducing the client’s circumstances. Distinguish your recommendation from another clinician’s or agency’s final decision.
Explain coordination and documentation time
List required sessions, meetings, documentation and travel relevant to your own hours. Record cancellations or added duties that affected the schedule. Use your own time entries and permitted manager messages rather than exporting a client service history to reconstruct work.
Keep sensitive care information in place
Do not copy progress notes, assessments, client communications or group participant lists into personal storage. Identify relevant record types for controlled handling. Preserve your own review, schedule and employment correspondence, avoiding unsupported conclusions about a client’s health or a treatment outcome.
Choose your next step
Review the workplace retaliation guide, unpaid wages guide, or discrimination guide if those concerns fit your experience. A job title alone does not establish a claim.
Call now(800) 800-5555Current service-state coverage
AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY. Eligibility is evaluated individually; this list does not promise representation.
Explore state resources