Community service workers can work in many different capacities to assist clients with resolving personal issues and identifying resources to meet their needs. A certificate or associate's degree is typically required, although sometimes a bachelor's degree is needed.
What Is a Community Service Worker?
What is community services work? This can be answered by exploring what a community service worker is, the duties, and requirements. A community service worker is often referred to as a human service worker. They work in a variety of areas, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. Community service workers may be involved in helping clients with counseling issues and leading and organizing community group activities.
| Required Education | Certificate or associate's degree in human services; sometimes bachelor's degree |
| Projected Job Growth (2019-2029) | 13% for all social and human service assistants* |
| Median Annual Salary (2019) | $50,470 for all social and human service assistants* |
Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Community Service Worker Job Description
Community service workers focus on providing care, support, and counseling to individuals dealing with issues such as adult daycare, substance abuse, human relationships, and rehabilitation. They are typically employed by community centers and organizations that focus on community outreach and care.
A community service worker's clients often include pregnant teens, homeless people, families, and the elderly. Most of a community service worker's duties are conducted in an office environment, and potential employers may include halfway houses, housing programs supported by state and local governments, and group homes. Depending on who employs a community service worker, or the position they are holding, the job descriptions may be described as either a community resource worker job description, community service duties, a service worker job description, or a community service assistant job description. Any community services job description that one may come across aims at achieving one goal: improving the lives the community service workers serve.
Community Service Worker Duties
The duties of a community service worker involve arranging community gatherings and helping clients who need counseling. Additional responsibilities may include administering food banks, helping people obtain certain benefits and services, such as welfare, and aiding community members in accessing medical care.
Providing emotional support to clients is also important in this role. Community service workers work standard business hours but may be required to work some nights and weekends. The work of a community service worker can be satisfying, but it is also stressful and sometimes dangerous.
Requirements for Community Service Workers
A community service worker must, at a minimum, hold a certificate or an associate's degree in human services or another closely related field. Many community colleges offer this type of program. A student enrolled in an associate's degree in human services may study crisis intervention, culturally sensitive human services practice, counseling theories and techniques, abnormal psychology and serving and surviving in human services.
Some community service worker jobs that have extensive job duties and responsibilities require that applicants hold a bachelor's degree in human services. Aspiring community service workers must have strong communication skills and be social since they frequently interact with people. Additionally, they should be comfortable working under pressure. A good community service worker course should be able to prepare a community service worker to handle different tasks related to their careers.
Community Service Worker Salary & Job Outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not provide employment outlook or salary information for community service workers, although it does provide data for social and human service assistants as well as social workers. Between 2019 and 2029, the BLS expected human service assistants to see employment opportunities increase much faster than the average through 2029.
In its May 2019 salary report, the BLS stated that social worker's average salaries were broken out by subspecialty, with healthcare social workers earning an average of $56,750, and child, school, and family social workers earning an average of $47,390. In comparison, mental health and substance abuse social workers earned an average of $46,650.
Community service workers meet the needs of a community by providing a variety of support services. Because they work in areas such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work, a bachelor's degree may be required. Salary varies and job growth in this field is higher than average.
Related Community Service Work Careers
In a community worker job description, the specific duties and responsibilities may differ because community service workers function in a variety of organizations. In describing the careers in community service work, one may tend to state community service worker vs social worker depending on the community service description in question, but in practice, they are the same careers. Related community service work careers may include child, family, and school social workers, health social workers, and mental health and substance abuse social workers. They may work in local governments, state governments, individual and family services, as well as Ambulatory healthcare services. Thus, there is no standard community and social services job description because the community service duties of social workers are different in different organizations. Other specific occupations they may hold include:
- Emergency management directors
- Marriage and family therapists
- Rehabilitation counselors
- School and career counselors
- Social and human service assistants