A professional who aids individuals and families having problems concerning family relationships or other aspects of their social functioning affecting unity of family and welfare of community. Responsibilities include:

• Counsels clients on problems, such as unsatisfactory relationships between marriage partners or between parents and children; unwed parenthood; home management; work adjustment; vocational training; need for financial assistance; care of the ill, handicapped, or aged, care of other family members at time of physical or mental illness; desertion of parent; or difficulties encountered in travel or stabilization in new community.
• Helps clients to use agency's services, such as homemaker, or day care, and other community resources.
• In a public assistance or voluntary agency ascertains client's eligibility for financial assistance and determines amount of grant and assumes responsibility for services rendered.
• May assist travelers, runaways of any age, migrants, transients, refugees, repatriated Americans, and problem families drifting from community to community, encountering difficulty in traveling or needing help toward stabilization.
• Employed in organizations, such as public assistance, family service, Travelers Aid, and American Red Cross Home Service.
• Usually required to have knowledge and skill in casework methods acquired through degree program at school of social work.