Winter 2026 Issue

Remote Social Work: Reflections of a Remote Social Worker
By Celena M. Allen, LCSW
Social Work Today
Vol. 26 No. 1 P. 10

Promoting Quality and Connection From Behind the Screen

When most people think about social work, they often think solely about direct client interactions such as home visits, therapy sessions, crisis interventions, or community mental health work. My work looks very different. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker operating in the role of a clinical quality and compliance professional for a health insurance company. I spend Tuesday through Friday in front of a computer screen reviewing clinical documentation from applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapists who service beneficiaries of the health insurance company. Although I do not work directly with clients, the social work values of ethics, empathy, and education guide every audit, email, and collaborative conversation I have with the providers.

Early in my career, I worked in direct practice roles in foster care, hospitals, and mental health facilities. I loved connecting with clients, but I often found myself frustrated with the paperwork, documentation requirements, and deadlines. Transitioning into quality and compliance work reframed how I viewed documentation. It’s about advocacy in written form. It’s a written history of the healing process of clients. It’s how clinicians and direct service workers communicate across disciplines and how agencies demonstrate accountability to clients and insurance providers. My role allows me to blend two of my passions: helping others grow professionally and ensuring systems function with integrity. It’s a way for me to live out core social work values, even without direct client contact.

Morning: Centering Purpose
At 5:30 AM, the first sound of my day is the sound of my alarm going off. I make my bed, brush my teeth, and wash my face. When most are grabbing their Keurig and brewing coffee, I opt for water or a hot tea for a cold morning. I take a few minutes to quietly reflect on my to-do list for the day. My office is in one of the spare bedrooms of my home. My degrees are affixed on the wall, and I have a desk calendar full of deadlines and sticky notes for reminders of which agencies I need to schedule calls with. It’s now 6 AM, and I begin the task of turning on my computer and logging into multiple required systems. The work I do spans across systems of care. I remind myself that every session note I review represents a client’s story, pain, progress, and resilience.

Reviewing documentation may seem solely administrative, but it’s also very human. Each record reflects a balance between compliance and compassion. As I read, I check for clear linkages between treatment goals, interventions, and progress. I also note strengths, concise descriptions, client-centered language, and compliance with the progress note documentation operations manual requirements. As I scan for compliance and alignment with best practices, I find myself asking: Does this documentation honor the client’s voice and experience?

Midday: Auditing With Empathy
By midmorning, I’m deep in review mode, sometimes reviewing hundreds of records for one organization. I often conduct research on prior audit results, review treatment plans, and consult with peers and leadership on “gray areas.” Auditing can easily become transactional, focusing on checking boxes and citing the errors. When I find a documentation error, I don’t see it as a failure; I see it as an opportunity for teaching and building connections with the providers. An additional duty I hold is to conduct collaborative calls with ABA providers/agencies, providing feedback to clinicians, not as criticism, but as a supportive measure to increase success rates on future audits. These moments merge quality and compliance with mentorship. I’ve learned that empathy can travel through the phones and screens if you are intentional about tone, pauses, and presence. I work to ensure clinicians feel supported, educated, and that the process is collaborative, not punitive. My feedback is guided by the same skills I used when working directly with clients: empathy, reflective listening, and motivational interviewing.

Working from home can make human connection feel distant, but effective and intentional communication bridges that gap. Virtual education sessions often evolve into rich, professional conversations, as clinicians share their challenges, ask for examples, clarify policy, or reflect on ethical gray areas. These are times when I get to practice social work skills with clinicians, using empathy, motivational interviewing, and strengths-based feedback to support clinicians’ professional growth with documentation.

Afternoon: Education and Systems Thinking
The second half of my day often involves collaborating with colleagues and leadership on performance trends and audit outcomes. I am tasked with my own documentation, where I am required to write a summary of each education call held with the ABA providers/clinicians. The summary must include the audit errors identified, the feedback provided, the resources made available, and the clinician’s response to the information provided.

I also develop educational resources, present short training courses for new hires, and cross-train other teams on the ABA audit process. Here, my role feels more like advocacy. By identifying patterns in documentation, I am helping shape systems that better support clients and clinicians. Around 4:20 PM I begin the process of preparing to end my workday. I review my calendar for the next day’s tasks, conduct a final check of emails, and start the process of shutting down all systems. This is the behind-the-scenes social work that flows outward, protecting client rights, promoting accountability, and improving service delivery. The work may be quiet, but the effects reach far beyond my home office.

Challenges and Rewards of Remote Work
Working from home offers flexibility and focus, but also isolation. Without water cooler conversations or office energy, it’s easy to feel disconnected from others. I’ve had to be intentional about human connections. Another challenge with connection is that my team does not have access to webcams, so I do not get to see my teammates; I can only have phone calls or team chats. Virtual chats and consultations with colleagues, wellness breaks, participation in network resource groups, and mentorships, as well as small rituals like stepping outside for some sunshine, help keep me grounded. I also use an electric standing desk, which allows me to stand periodically during the day. I check in regularly with colleagues, not just about work but also about how they are doing. Sometimes, a simple question, like “Any plans for your weekend?” in a chat window, opens space for an authentic connection.

Remote work has its rewards, as well. It has taught me to be resourceful, adaptable, and self-motivated. What keeps me motivated is knowing that my work ensures clients receive high-quality care. Although I’m not face-to-face with clients, I like to believe that I am part of their support system, ensuring their needs are properly documented, their progress is visible, and their care meets the highest standards.

Reflection: The Broader Impact
This role has deepened my understanding of the scope of social work and that social workers can do so much more than just provide direct services to clients. Quality and compliance aren’t just about regulation; it’s about integrity, justice, and respect for those we serve. Some assume I am the “rule enforcer,” detached from client care. I am a social worker safeguarding the ethical framework that allows good practice to thrive. Every audit is an act of accountability; every educational moment is a chance to strengthen the profession. I strive to model nonjudgment, even when documentation falls short.

Working from home has also challenged me to redefine the meaning of “connection.” I have learned that advocacy doesn’t only happen in front of a client but can also be through an email, a policy, or a documentation correction that ensures a client’s needs aren’t lost in translation. Even in a digital space, the core of social work remains the same: meet people where they are, even if that means where I am is behind a computer screen. Technology has changed how we connect, but not why we connect in the first place. Whether through a screen or in person, our purpose of serving, educating, and advocating remains the same. As the social work field continues to evolve, I believe that quality and compliance professionals will play a critical role in shaping ethical and efficient systems of care. The upcoming generation of social workers will rely on strong documentation for accountability and storytelling to demonstrate how interventions positively impact the lives of those they serve.

Though often unseen, this work forms a vital part of the backbone of social work practice. Behind the scenes, I hope to ensure that stories are told accurately, care is documented ethically, and providers feel supported in their growth. Though I may work in solitude, I’m never disconnected from the collective mission of social work: honoring human dignity, fostering growth, and strengthening systems that serve others.

— Celena M. Allen, LCSW, is a clinical quality and compliance professional for a health insurance company, and a PhD student in the department of social work at Alabama A&M University.