Careers in Family and

Community Services
By: Mekesha, Kaylie, Alison
Jobs in family and community services today are many and
varied. Because families exist in every culture and every
community, the skills of family service professionals are
greatly needed.The environment families exist in is always
changing. The result: New knowledge and technology must
be combined with the old way the community can improve
the lives of families. The population keeps growing. So the
need for family and community specialists will continue to
grow as long as there are people and families needing
services.
Child welfare caseworkers can provide the necessary services to help children in
need, such as disabled, homeless, foster, and abused children. In many situations,
caseworkers interact with children and family members, including siblings, parents,
extended relatives, and guardians. Caseworkers assess the needs of each child and
determine the best course of action for improving the child's situation.
● Focus on specific groups of at-risk children
● Caseworkers operating out of public school settings advocate for students with
learning disabilities or troubled home lives.
● child protective services social workers are essentially child welfare caseworkers who
intervene when parents or guardians are suspected of child abuse or neglect.
● Once a caseworker knows what happened regarding the alleged abuse or neglect in a
particular case, the caseworker can then offer services to the family to remedy the
current situation and prevent further maltreatment.
● After determining whether abuse or neglect occurred, caseworkers plan and
coordinate services to help a family’s situation. While caseworkers sometimes must
remove children from their homes, they prefer not to do this.