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Family worker vs family service worker

The differences between family workers and family service workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a family worker and a family service worker. Additionally, a family service worker has an average salary of $37,674, which is higher than the $36,992 average annual salary of a family worker.

The top three skills for a family worker include social work, foster care and child care. The most important skills for a family service worker are social work, foster care, and child abuse.

Family worker vs family service worker overview

Family WorkerFamily Service Worker
Yearly salary$36,992$37,674
Hourly rate$17.78$18.11
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs101,552111,599
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a family worker do?

A family worker's role is to provide an intervention with parents, children, and young persons to help improve outcomes for families and children. The job they do includes working with parents to help strengthen family relationships and their ability to provide support and be community involved closely. They implement a program that helps parents recognize a child's needs, encouraging child self-esteem development, and positive behavior. Moreover, other duties include giving referrals to other community services as required and to assess family progress.

What does a family service worker do?

A family service worker is in charge of providing support services to families in a community, referring them to other agencies or programs as needed. They serve as the primary point of contact of family members, ensuring they maintain an active line of communication. Their responsibilities typically revolve around enrolling family members into social services programs, gathering and verifying information, maintaining databases, and assisting in all procedures, all while updating families for any progress. Furthermore, a family service worker needs to coordinate with other social workers to provide the most effective service.

Family worker vs family service worker salary

Family workers and family service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Family WorkerFamily Service Worker
Average salary$36,992$37,674
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $48,000Between $28,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City-Chicago, IL
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-Washington County
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between family worker and family service worker education

There are a few differences between a family worker and a family service worker in terms of educational background:

Family WorkerFamily Service Worker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorPsychologySocial Work
Most common collegeHunter College of the City University of New YorkHunter College of the City University of New York

Family worker vs family service worker demographics

Here are the differences between family workers' and family service workers' demographics:

Family WorkerFamily Service Worker
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 15.1% Female, 84.9%Male, 14.8% Female, 85.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between family worker and family service worker duties and responsibilities

Family worker example responsibilities.

  • Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
  • Create service plans and attend administrative case reviews at the DCFS office.
  • Work with families developing and implementing permanent plan in accordance with DCFS policy, procedures, and accreditation standards.
  • Mediate conflicts between patients, handle medical emergencies, assist patients in developing and implementing positive and cooperative living skills.
  • Accompany the families to the IEP meeting and help them deal with any issues or concerns that arise.
  • Assess and evaluate all refer students and make plans to implement any need social services such as following IEP plans.
  • Show more

Family service worker example responsibilities.

  • Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
  • Practice motivational interviewing techniques to assist individuals in identifying personal hurdles in order to set goals and work towards rehabilitation.
  • Establish and maintain relationships with stakeholder (DSS staff, schools and community partners).
  • Integrate the individual support plan (ISP) objective into the individuals' daily schedule.
  • Provide courtesy interviews or conflict investigations for other county DSS.
  • Determine participants' eligibility for program by gathering data and maintaining information to ensure clients are compliant for TANF program regulations.

Family worker vs family service worker skills

Common family worker skills
  • Social Work, 22%
  • Foster Care, 11%
  • Child Care, 9%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Community Resources, 5%
  • Substance Abuse, 3%
Common family service worker skills
  • Social Work, 18%
  • Foster Care, 10%
  • Child Abuse, 9%
  • Protective Services, 5%
  • Mental Health, 5%
  • Court Reports, 4%

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