In the life of a social worker at Children’s Minnesota

What it’s like to be a behavior health and emergency department social worker at Children’s Minnesota

Clinical social work services at Children’s Minnesota focus on the psychological and social impact of the health care needs on the family system.

They assist patients and families with the physical, emotional and social issues and concerns that exist during a hospitalization. By providing information about health and illness (including grief and loss), they hope to encourage patients and families become active participants in their care.

We sat down with Stephen DeLong, LICSW, behavior health and emergency department (ED) social worker, and talked about what his job is like at Children’s Minnesota.

Learn more about Stephen’s role.

How long have you worked at Children’s Minnesota?

I’ve been with Children’s Minnesota for a year and half.

What does a typical day for you look like?

I usually start my day helping our behavioral health patients find inpatient mental health treatment. My day then depends on the needs of the ED. I usually am providing mental health crisis assessments to new patients, meeting with families in the ED, problem solving, or providing a variety of resources from housing to transportation.

Do you have a favorite moment from working at Children’s Minnesota?

Every day I’m blown away by the collaboration and care the staff provide to our patients. I get the pleasure of being able to spend time with families, helping provide support and resources, especially in the most vulnerable of times when families see how much we truly care by the effort we put in to ensuring they receive the best care.

What would you like families and staff at Children’s Minnesota to know about social work?

Our social work department is full of great listeners that can provide a calm presence and offer support.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I enjoy being active with my wife and kids, hiking, camping, spending time on the north shore, and running the lakes in Minneapolis.

If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?

I’ve always wanted to go to Banff National Park in Canada to hike and camp.

Social work at Children’s Minnesota

Children’s Minnesota has a robust team of more than 50 social workers, offering services to patients and families any time they need them. In 2018 Children’s social workers met with 9,943 individual patients and their families, contributing to more than 25,000 hours of clinical care.