What does a social service coordinator do?
A social service coordinator is responsible for assisting the essential needs of the citizens within a community by providing them financial assistance, employment services, and social provisions through coordinating with various organizations and social institutions. Social service coordinators conduct counseling to assess social needs and processing referral services for particular purposes. They also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, responding to the citizens' inquiries and concerns, collecting their documents, and coordinating with the community office on planning livelihood programs and activities for social benefits.
Social service coordinator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real social service coordinator resumes:
- Maintain national staffing Microsoft SharePoint site in order to manage staffing requisitions and available resources for business needs
- Streamline productivity strategically managing caseloads and direct client contact conducting weekly interviews with patients and families; experience in MDS documentation.
- Formulate rehabilitation plan for each assign offender by evaluating legal and social history and progress of offender.
- Conduct math lessons in a small group setting.
- Serve as a lead math tutor to underclassmen for two years.
- Help with landscaping activities such as raking leaves and mowing the lawn of the church.
- Act as cultural consultant to DHS staff and other professionals working with families of color.
- Issue WIC benefits, complete data entry, tracks and complete inventories, prepare and maintain reports.
- Conduct research into current and emerging web technologies and issues in support of SharePoint web development efforts.
- Provide social service support to identify at-risk young women in the areas of HIV prevention, addiction and eating disorders.
- Progress notes are documented for any interaction about the person, in both the agency and state (DDA) database.
- Navigate threw various windows in finding information.
- Input new/update resident information into the Yardi database.
- Receive import organ offers and communicate offers to surgeons and/or coordinators.
- Interview applicants to gather information in order to complete Medicare supplement applications.
Social service coordinator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Social Service Coordinators are proficient in Social Work, Home Health, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Social Service Coordinators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 22%
Collaborated with treatment team of social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and rehabilitation counselors to develop individualized treatment plans.
- Home Health, 14%
Provide recommendations and referrals to home health agencies and community resources* Complete Quality Assurance and administrative duties.
- Patients, 12%
Streamlined productivity strategically managing caseloads and direct client contact conducting weekly interviews with patients and families; experience in MDS documentation.
- Community Resources, 11%
Conducted research of available community resources necessary to ensure smooth transition and clinical stability once discharged from the facility.
- Rehabilitation, 5%
Assisted with facilitating youth therapy group to assist individuals in overcoming dependencies, illness recovery and rehabilitation.
- Social Service Programs, 3%
Provided accountability and monitoring for 26 social service programs purchased by Hamilton County Government from 12 non-profit organizations.
Common skills that a social service coordinator uses to do their job include "social work," "home health," and "patients." You can find details on the most important social service coordinator responsibilities below.
Compassion. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a social service coordinator to have is compassion. Their role and responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Social service coordinators often use compassion in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintained a positive relationship with residents in the facility by demonstrating kindness and compassion. "
Time-management skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling social service coordinator duties is time-management skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." According to a social service coordinator resume, here's how social service coordinators can utilize time-management skills in their job responsibilities: "prioritize scheduling of meetings to meet deadlines in fast paced short term rehabilitation unit. "
Communication skills. social service coordinators are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to social service coordinator responsibilities, because "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." A social service coordinator resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "maintain the statistics on missed visits from patient specific communication for harlingen and brownsville home health offices and hospice. "
Interpersonal skills. social service coordinator responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." This resume example shows what social service coordinators do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "utilized interpersonal skills to quickly build rapport with families in the early intervention program. "
Organizational skills. Another common skill required for social service coordinator responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of social service coordinators all the time, as "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." An excerpt from a real social service coordinator resume shows how this skill is central to what a social service coordinator does: "demonstrated exceptional organizational abilities through participation in care plans and interdisciplinary meetings with clinical team. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on social service coordinator job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in social service coordinator duties, since "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day social service coordinator responsibilities: "conflict resolution and crisis intervention. "
The three companies that hire the most social service coordinators are:
- ProMedica Toledo Hospital45 social service coordinators jobs
- The Salvation Army17 social service coordinators jobs
- HCR ManorCare16 social service coordinators jobs
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Compare different social service coordinators
Social service coordinator vs. Social worker
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, social service coordinator responsibilities require skills like "social service programs," "medicare," "medicaid," and "local agencies." Meanwhile a typical social worker has skills in areas such as "social services," "veterans," "medical care," and "family therapy." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Social workers tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $56,132. In contrast, social service coordinators make the biggest average salary, $42,652, in the professional industry.The education levels that social workers earn slightly differ from social service coordinators. In particular, social workers are 10.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a social service coordinator. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Social service coordinator vs. Service provider
Service providers are individuals or entities offering services to an organization and other parties. They provide storage, processing, or network services. The providers offer organizations real estate, communications, education, legal, and consulting services. It is their job to complete the requested tasks of their clients, provide solutions to network problems, and recommend options based on the needs of their clients. They also suggest changes or opportunities necessary within the organization.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that social service coordinator responsibilities requires skills like "home health," "rehabilitation," "social service programs," and "community services." But a service provider might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "cleanliness," "strong customer service," and "foster care."
Service providers may earn a lower salary than social service coordinators, but service providers earn the most pay in the insurance industry with an average salary of $37,005. On the other hand, social service coordinators receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $42,652.service providers earn lower levels of education than social service coordinators in general. They're 9.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for social service coordinators in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Social service coordinator vs. Children's program coordinator
A children's program coordinator is someone who develops programs for children and toddlers. The children's program coordinator creates child-centered programs to educate and entertain children and infants. The children's program coordinator evaluates children's participation in such programs, provides support, and works with parents to look after their children. The children's program coordinator also ensures the health and safety of the participants, and connects the kids and parents to various support organizations to resolve issues and problems that may be encountered.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a social service coordinator is likely to be skilled in "home health," "rehabilitation," "social service programs," and "community services," while a typical children's program coordinator is skilled in "public health," "cpr," "childhood," and "child development."
Children's program coordinators make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $41,009. On the other hand, social service coordinators are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $42,652.Most children's program coordinators achieve a lower degree level compared to social service coordinators. For example, they're 6.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Social service coordinator vs. Service worker
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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between social service coordinators and service workers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a social service coordinator might have more use for skills like "social service programs," "medicare," "medicaid," and "local agencies." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of service workers require skills like "customer service," "cleanliness," "excellent interpersonal," and "team-oriented environment. "
In general, service workers earn the most working in the government industry, with an average salary of $36,743. The highest-paying industry for a social service coordinator is the professional industry.In general, service workers hold lower degree levels compared to social service coordinators. Service workers are 14.7% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of social service coordinator
Updated January 8, 2025
