Social and Human Service Assistants

Also Called:

Advocate,

Clinical Assistant,

Social Work Associate,

Social Worker Assistant

What they do: Assist other social and human service providers 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.

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Assess clients' cognitive abilities and physical and emotional needs to determine appropriate interventions.
  • Develop and implement behavioral management and care plans for clients.
  • Keep records or prepare reports for owner or management concerning visits with clients.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Business
  • Customer service

  • Administrative services

Math and Science
  • Psychology

  • Sociology and anthropology

Health
  • Therapy and counseling

Arts and Humanities
  • English language

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal
  • Communicate by speaking

  • Communicate by writing

Ideas and Logic
  • Notice when problems happen

  • Use rules to solve problems

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

  • Talking to others

Social
  • Understanding people's reactions

  • Looking for ways to help people

Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

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.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move
  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Connect with a career advisor or mentor
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Social and Human Service Assistants jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop