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The differences between adoption specialists and child support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an adoption specialist and a child support specialist. Additionally, an adoption specialist has an average salary of $41,070, which is higher than the $38,271 average annual salary of a child support specialist.
The top three skills for an adoption specialist include foster care, social work and adoption process. The most important skills for a child support specialist are customer service, social work, and child support cases.
| Adoption Specialist | Child Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $41,070 | $38,271 |
| Hourly rate | $19.75 | $18.40 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 84,209 | 143,623 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Adoption Specialists are responsible for evaluating and arranging both adoptive parents' and child's needs to ensure a good family fit. Their duties include undertaking adoption research on families, completing paperwork requirements, carrying out adoption education for families before and following children's placements at their house, and assisting in post-placement services. They are also responsible for developing adoption plans, act as main family advisors, and organize community resources needed by both adoptive parents and children, such as education, health care, and counseling.
A child support specialist is primarily in charge of monitoring child support payments, ensuring individuals with financial obligations comply with the legal settlement terms. They mainly work in the legal industry, where their responsibilities include assessing the clients' financial situations, gathering and analyzing financial statements, performing interviews and follow-up calls, and producing regular progress reports. Furthermore, as a child support specialist, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions and procedures, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
Adoption specialists and child support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Adoption Specialist | Child Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $41,070 | $38,271 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $57,000 | Between $29,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Rockville, MD |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | University of Rochester |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between an adoption specialist and a child support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Adoption Specialist | Child Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between adoption specialists' and child support specialists' demographics:
| Adoption Specialist | Child Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |