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Service worker vs family service worker

The differences between service workers and family service workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a service worker, becoming a family service worker takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a family service worker has an average salary of $37,674, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a service worker.

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

Service worker vs family service worker overview

Service WorkerFamily Service Worker
Yearly salary$30,045$37,674
Hourly rate$14.44$18.11
Growth rate12%9%
Number of jobs103,584111,599
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4342
Years of experience124

What does a service worker do?

A service worker is responsible for assisting the community welfare development by providing social services to an organization or specific individual groups, supporting their needs, and addressing their community concerns. Service workers also offer counseling services to their clients to guide them on how they manage their life crises, developing community activities and job opportunities to help citizens with their financial needs by consulting local organizations. A service worker must have strong leadership and communication skills, as well as deep engagement with the community to assess the client's situation properly.

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.

Service worker vs family service worker salary

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

Service WorkerFamily Service Worker
Average salary$30,045$37,674
Salary rangeBetween $22,000 And $40,000Between $28,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CityBeaverton, ORChicago, IL
Highest paying stateAlaskaNew Jersey
Best paying companyMassachusetts General HospitalWashington County
Best paying industryGovernmentGovernment

Differences between service worker and family service worker education

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

Service WorkerFamily Service Worker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorPsychologySocial Work
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaHunter College of the City University of New York

Service worker vs family service worker demographics

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

Service WorkerFamily Service Worker
Average age4342
Gender ratioMale, 38.8% Female, 61.2%Male, 14.8% Female, 85.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 6.9% White, 57.7% 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 Percentage11%10%

Differences between service worker and family service worker duties and responsibilities

Service worker example responsibilities.

  • Manage a caseload of over one hundr TANF cases.
  • Assist in managing inventory for student and staff culinary and scholastic supplies.
  • Receive specialized training on CPR, human rights and history of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
  • Implement HIPAA standards within the facility.
  • Copy patient medical records when request within HIPPA regulations.
  • Used scrubbers, mops, and seal and wax floors.
  • 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.

Service worker vs family service worker skills

Common service worker skills
  • Customer Service, 20%
  • Cleanliness, 10%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 7%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
  • Crisis Intervention, 5%
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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