Social Worker and Family Assistant in the Family Support System

Abstract

Cooperation of a social worker and a family assistant is conducive to effective social work with a family. This is especially true in situations in which previous efforts made by welfare workers have been unsuccessful. The responsibilities of social workers have been dealt with in the literature on numerous occasions but have never been subjected to in-depth analyses covering the cooperation of social workers with family assistants. A family assistant supports a family so that it can overcome difficulties, especially those concerning children. The assistant accompanies parents in introducing changes that will make it possible for their children to develop properly. Unlike social work, the work of an assistant is characterised by a high level of individualisation at work due to the fact that there are fewer recipients of that work. On the other hand, social assistant’s work is similar to a social worker’s work in that the social assistant’s task is to boost family members’ sense of agency and the quality of their lives. The aim of the family assistant’s activities is largely to make the family self-reliant and to make the children stay in the family. The article endeavours to discuss the scopes of the social worker’s and family assistant’s roles within the family support system.