Family worker vs social worker

The differences between family workers and social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a family worker, becoming a social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a social worker has an average salary of $50,102, 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 social worker are social work, patients, and patient care.

Family worker vs social worker overview

	Family Worker	Social Worker
Yearly salary	$36,992	$50,102
Hourly rate	$17.78	$24.09
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	101,552	77,340
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	42	45
Years of experience	4	2

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 social worker do?

Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.

Family worker vs social worker salary

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

	Family Worker	Social Worker
Average salary	$36,992	$50,102
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $48,000	Between $37,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	-	Portland, OR
Highest paying state	-	Oregon
Best paying company	-	Health Advocates
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between family worker and social worker education

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

	Family Worker	Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	Hunter College of the City University of New York	University of Pennsylvania

Family worker vs social worker demographics

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

	Family Worker	Social Worker
Average age	42	45
Gender ratio	Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9%	Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	10%	13%

Differences between family worker and social 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.

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Social worker example responsibilities.

Assist clients in achieving treatment goals such as anger, ADHD, grief, social skills, and manners.
Lead and co-le CBT and DBT skills-base groups with participants, as well as relapse prevention, mindfulness and process groups.
Support patient questions and issues regarding Medicare ESRD entitlement and Medicaid and assist in the completion of the appropriate documentation.
Coordinate IPU discharge planning patients to SNF, ALF, PCH or in-home care with necessary support for care.
Facilitate relationships with AKF and other patient assistance programs, VA, Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance providers.
Complete Medicaid and Medicare applications as needed.

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Family worker vs social 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 social worker skills

Social Work, 30%
Patients, 15%
Patient Care, 5%
MSW, 4%
Discharge Planning, 4%
Home Health, 4%

Family Worker vs. similar jobs

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Updated January 8, 2025

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