Social-pedagogical family assistance is one of the most important youth welfare support services in Germany. In 2019, more than 132,700 families were cared for within the framework of this educational assistance, which corresponds to a case increase of about 40,000 cases compared to 2009. But which theoretical explanatory approaches and methodological procedures does social pedagogical family support actually use? This question remains largely unanswered empirically, despite its high relevance for youth welfare practice. This is where Jutta Harrer-Amersdorffer comes in and asks which social work scientific explanatory approaches the professionals use for case processing. In addition, the author elaborates starting points for further professionalisation of this form of assistance and thus opens up an important perspective on the future of social-pedagogical family assistance.