Tirade right in front of social worker? (4)
I believe the answer is:
rant
'tirade' is the definition.
(both can mean an angry outburst)
'right in front of social worker?' is the wordplay.
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'in front of' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (some letters go in front of others).
'social worker?' becomes 'ant' (ants are social insects).
'r'+'ant'='RANT'
(Other definitions for rant that I've seen before include "Speak intemperately" , "Intemperate speech" , "Angry tirade" , "Rail" , "Talk wildly, harangue" .)