What does a community support worker do?
A community support worker works with different social groups to provide physical, emotional, and emotional support to clients. Community support workers primarily aim to care for and support people with mental and/or physical restrictions or disabilities. They provide personal care assistance to clients and their families or caregivers. Part of their job is to maximize and promote independence in the home and community setting. They encourage residents in care institutions to take part in activities.
Community support worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real community support worker resumes:
- Key staff person, charge with rehabilitation and environmental support essential to assist a consumer in achieving rehabilitation and recovery goals.
- Promote recovery, rehabilitation and resiliency through goals and skill development in independent living, psycho-educational learning, socializing and recreation.
- Key staff person, charge with rehabilitation and environmental support essential to assist a consumer in achieving rehabilitation and recovery goals.
- Document progress and communicate to MHMR case manager.
Community support worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Community Support Workers are proficient in Crisis Intervention, Community Resources, and Social Work. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Community Support Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Crisis Intervention, 9%
Regulated clients and families in acute and chronic crisis situations by utilizing crisis intervention techniques through behavioral modification.
- Community Resources, 9%
Utilize counseling and communication skills to engage consumer and provide community resources while facilitating service delivery.
- Social Work, 8%
Provided executive support for therapists, psychiatrists and social workers, managing the office calendar and updating documentation.
- CPR, 7%
Attend all staff meetings and trainings such as First Aid & CPR, HIPPA and TOVA.
- Patients, 7%
Utilized strong assessment skills to determine necessary patient care., Provided caring companionship to elderly and developmentally disabled patients.
- Mental Health, 7%
Assist mental health consumers with achieving set goals * Provide therapeutic interventions as established within person centered plan * Completed daily documentation
Most community support workers use their skills in "crisis intervention," "community resources," and "social work" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential community support worker responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a community support worker to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." Additionally, a community support worker resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "assisted consumers in developing appropriate behaviors through the application of passive listening and supportive communication as outlined in their pcp. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling community support worker duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." According to a community support worker resume, here's how community support workers can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "assist compassionate and clients with served meals and adl's. "
Organizational skills. community support workers are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to community support worker responsibilities, because "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." A community support worker resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "provided case specific court testimony crisis intervention skills used verbal skills organizational skills time management skills crisis intervention skills"
Time-management skills. community support worker responsibilities often require "time-management skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." This resume example shows what community support workers do with time-management skills on a typical day: "possess and maintain a working knowledge of laws, mandates, deadlines and other pertinent information to child abuse and neglect. "
Interpersonal skills. A commonly-found skill in community support worker job descriptions, "interpersonal skills" is essential to what community support workers do. Community support worker responsibilities rely on this skill because "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." You can also see how community support worker duties rely on interpersonal skills in this resume example: "conferenced with patients of at-risk youth to offer recommendations for management of at-home interpersonal skills and behaviors. "
Problem-solving skills. Lastly, "problem-solving skills" is an important element of what a community support worker does. Community support worker responsibilities require this skill because "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." This resume example highlights how community support worker duties rely on this skill: "guide children with behavioral issues including, adhd and odd, through problem-solving techniques. "
The three companies that hire the most community support workers are:
- STEPPING STONES OF ROCKFORD4 community support workers jobs
- State of Georgia: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia3 community support workers jobs
- Community Health and Counseling Services3 community support workers jobs
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Compare different community support workers
Community support worker vs. Living specialist
A living specialist is a person who is responsible for assisting and guiding individuals that have difficulties caring for themselves. They are the person who helps them in doing household chores and guiding them throughout the cleaning process. This career is an important position in society because it provides care for those who are in need.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between community support workers and living specialist. For instance, community support worker responsibilities require skills such as "social work," "patients," "severe mental illness," and "rehabilitation." Whereas a living specialist is skilled in "autism," "foster care," "mental illness," and "substance abuse." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Living specialists really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $37,646. Comparatively, community support workers tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $33,063.living specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than community support workers. In fact, living specialists are 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Community support worker vs. Rehabilitation specialist
Rehabilitation specialists are professionals who are responsible for helping individuals with physical and mental disabilities to reintegrate into society and live independently. These specialists must assist their clients in finding the type of work they could do with their disability and prepare them for their interview. They are required to provide a basic explanation about the medical or mental health condition to their clients. Rehabilitation specialists must also collaborate with other professionals to assist with rehabilitation exercises.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that community support worker responsibilities requires skills like "criminal justice," "community support," "substance abuse issues," and "social services." But a rehabilitation specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "excellent interpersonal," "patient care," "rehabilitation services," and "substance abuse."
On average, rehabilitation specialists earn a higher salary than community support workers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, rehabilitation specialists earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $47,971. Whereas community support workers have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $33,063.rehabilitation specialists earn similar levels of education than community support workers in general. They're 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Community support worker vs. Program counselor
A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a community support worker is likely to be skilled in "mental health," "severe mental illness," "rehabilitation," and "criminal justice," while a typical program counselor is skilled in "medication administration," "substance abuse," "behavioral interventions," and "behavioral issues."
Program counselors make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $41,845. On the other hand, community support workers are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $33,063.program counselors typically earn similar educational levels compared to community support workers. Specifically, they're 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Community support worker vs. Residential program worker
Types of community support worker
Updated January 8, 2025
