Workers in this industry usually are good communicators and enjoy interacting with people. About 102,000 establishments in the private sector provided social services in 1998. Thousands of other establishments, mainly in State and local government, provided many additional social services. For information about government social services, see the Career Guide statements on Federal Government, and State and local government, excluding education and hospitals. Individual and family social services establishments provide counseling and welfare services including refugee, disaster, and temporary relief services.
Government offices distribute welfare aid, rent supplements, and food stamps.
Some agencies provide adult day care, home-delivered meals, and home health and personal care services. Other services concentrate on children, such as big brother and sister organizations, youth centers, and adoption services. Workers in crisis centers may focus on individual, marriage, child, or family counseling. Workers care for residents of alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers, group homes, and halfway houses. Job training and related services establishments train the unemployed, underemployed, disabled, and others with job market disadvantages.