Okuzeka
Social Work vocabulary · Casework and Assessment

Social worker

Meaning in social work, with examples

/ˈsəʊʃl ˌwɜːkə/nounCore term

In social work, social worker means: A trained professional who helps individuals, families and communities cope with problems such as poverty, abuse, illness or disability, and connects them with support and services.

In Turkish: sosyal hizmet uzmanı, sosyal çalışmacı

How it is used

The standard job title in English. People often add the setting: a child protection social worker, a hospital social worker, a school social worker. In many countries it is a protected title, so only registered or licensed practitioners may use it.

Example sentences

  1. The hospital social worker is arranging support at home before Mr Demir is discharged.

  2. Each family is allocated a named social worker who visits at least once a month.

Common collocations

  • qualified social worker
  • allocated social worker
  • registered social worker
  • child protection social worker
  • hospital social worker
  • clientA person, family or group that receives help or services from a social worker or an agency.
  • caseloadThe number of cases or clients that one social worker or team is responsible for at a given time.
  • case managementA way of working in which one worker assesses a person's needs, plans and coordinates the services they receive, and reviews progress over time.
  • supervisionRegular protected meetings in which a social worker discusses cases, decisions, workload, learning and wellbeing with a more experienced manager or colleague.

More terms: Casework and Assessment

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: