SALEM — A social worker will be able to visit more elderly residents due to an increase in a state grant to the Salem Council on Aging, the agency's director said.

The council will receive $38,949 under the grant, a 10 percent hike from last year, after the Legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Mitt Romney. The money will be used to pay the salaries of an outreach social worker and a coordinator of volunteers.

"This (grant) is crucial," said Linda Elworthy, executive director of the Council on Aging. "With the 10 percent increase, we have been able to increase the part-time social worker's hours and they are desperately needed."

Over the past six months, the agency's two social workers, one of whom works full time, saw 224 individuals for a variety of services ranging from counseling to assistance filling out forms for prescription drugs, fuel assistance and other services. They saw many of the elderly a number of times, both at their homes and at the COA office, Elworthy said.

"This was a vital position to fill," she said.

The part-time social worker has been on the job since last summer.

Social services and transportation are the two fastest-growing needs among the elderly, the director said.