Social And Human Service Assistants

Social and Human Service Assistants

Description

Assist in providing client services in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, or social work, including support for families. May assist clients in identifying and obtaining available benefits and social and community services. May assist social workers with developing, organizing, and conducting programs to prevent and resolve problems relevant to substance abuse, human relationships, rehabilitation, or dependent care.

Tasks

Keep records or prepare reports for owner or management concerning visits with clients.
Submit reports and review reports or problems with superior.
Interview individuals or family members to compile information on social, educational, criminal, institutional, or drug history.
Provide information or refer individuals to public or private agencies or community services for assistance.
Consult with supervisor concerning programs for individual families.
Advise clients regarding food stamps, child care, food, money management, sanitation, or housekeeping.
Oversee day-to-day group activities of residents in institution.
Visit individuals in homes or attend group meetings to provide information on agency services, requirements, or procedures.
Monitor free, supplementary meal program to ensure cleanliness of facility and that eligibility guidelines are met for persons receiving meals.
Meet with youth groups to acquaint them with consequences of delinquent acts.
Assist in planning food budgets, using charts or sample budgets.
Transport and accompany clients to shopping areas or to appointments, using automobile.
Assist in locating housing for displaced individuals.
Observe and discuss meal preparation and suggest alternate methods of food preparation.
Observe clients' food selections and recommend alternate economical and nutritional food choices.
Explain rules established by owner or management, such as sanitation or maintenance requirements or parking regulations.
Care for children in client's home during client's appointments.
Inform tenants of facilities, such as laundries or playgrounds.
Assist clients with preparation of forms, such as tax or rent forms.
Demonstrate use and care of equipment for tenant use.

Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Therapy and Counseling: Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Work Activities

Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Work Context

Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Freedom to Make Decisions: How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
Deal With External Customers: How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Electronic Mail: How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Structured versus Unstructured Work: To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

Interests

Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Work Style

Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Social Orientation: Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Persistence: Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Work Values

Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Related Occupations

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

Occupational Therapists

Personal Care Aides

Residential Advisors

Lay Titles

Activities of Daily Living Specialist

Addictions Counselor Assistant

Advocate

Boy's Adviser

Case Aide

Case Manager

Case Work Aide

Case Worker

Casework Specialist

Caseworker

Child Care Counselor

Child Care Worker

Children's Aide

Clerical Aide

Clinical Assistant

Clinical Social Work Aide

Community Advocate

Community Aide

Community Coordinator

Community Development Aide

Community Development Worker

Community Organization Aide

Community Program Assistant

Community Service Worker

Correctional Case Manager

Counseling Aide

Counselor Aide

Court Advocate

Day Program Instructor

Discharge Planner

Domestic Violence Advocate

Family Development Specialist

Family Self-Sufficiency Case Manager (FSS Case Manager)

Family Self-Sufficiency Specialist

Family Service Aide

Family Support Specialist

Family Support Worker

Field Representative

Field Service Representative

Field Worker

Food Management Aide

Foster Care and Family Services Case Worker (FCFS Case Worker)

Group Worker

Head Worker

Health and Human Service Aide

Home Visitor

Homebased Assistant

Hope VI Case Manager

House Visitor

Housing Assistant

Housing Counselor

Human Service Specialist

Human Service Technician

Human Services Assistant

Human Services Program Specialist

Human Services Worker

Independent Living Specialist

Job Opportunity Specialist

Licensed Social Worker

Management Aide

Mental Health Technician

Neighborhood Aide

Neighborhood Coordinator

Neighborhood Worker

Offender Employment Specialist (OES)

Offender Job Retention Specialist

Office Specialist

Outreach Coordinator

Outreach Specialist

Outreach Worker

Peer Counselor

Peer Educator

Personal Development Coach

Personal Development Educator

Personal Development Mentor

National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $13.87 hourly, $28,850 annual.

Employment (2008):: 351,400 employees