social service

noun

plural social services

: a program or effort designed to promote human or societal well-being

specifically : organized help for people who are in need of assistance with basic needs (such as food, housing, safety, or job training) or with medical needs (such as addiction or mental illness)

—usually plural

Most states are struggling with skimpy resources and a system of uncoordinated social services that is totally inadequate to serve a population of individuals whose needs are bottomless.

—Constance Holden

… attacked the idea of social services, claiming that the only entity entitled to provide care is the church, not the government.

—Tori Otten

—often used before another noun

social service agencies

Until the bridge's closure, the island hosted and supported social service programs including homeless shelters and an addiction recovery campus.

—Ellie Wolfe

Examples of social service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Smith said officials also made referrals to the health department and social service agencies. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 22 Jan. 2025

If approved by the Senate, Kennedy will have oversight of key health and social services organizations and influence health policy and food regulations. —Christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC, 19 Jan. 2025

In contrast to conventional inpatient rehab, which typically addresses addiction as a disease and has staff trained in medicine and social services, therapeutic communities see addiction as a symptom of a person’s deeper pain and behavioral problems. —Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025

Despite documentation of such conditions, state social service administrators and nursing home staff long have maintained that children with medical complexities are far better off in facilities than with family, and that parents are inherently less capable of being caregivers. —Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above