What does a child advocate do?
Child advocate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real child advocate resumes:
- Offer immediate practical assistance to the family in obtaining Medicaid coverage, financial assistance or help with housing.
- Assist patients in securing medical coverage by screening refer patients and coordinating the application process through successful approval.
- Complete risk assessments and develop comprehensive intervention plans to address safety, communication, and problem solving abilities.
Child advocate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Child Advocates are proficient in Social Work, Safety Planning, and Crisis Intervention. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Child Advocates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 16%
Interviewed the parents, guardians, caretakers, social workers, and other pertinent sources for information regarding a child.
- Safety Planning, 11%
Facilitated crisis intervention and safety planning for Domestic Violence victims.
- Crisis Intervention, 9%
Conducted crisis intervention with child abuse victims and their families upon initial investigation.
- Mental Health, 7%
Developed and implemented accurate court-ordered case plans by incorporating legal records, mental health evaluations, and assessments.
- Child Abuse, 5%
Conducted an independent extensive background investigation of alleged child abuse cases.
- Child Advocacy, 5%
Co-authored statewide Child Advocacy Manual utilized in all Ohio domestic violence shelters.
Common skills that a child advocate uses to do their job include "social work," "safety planning," and "crisis intervention." You can find details on the most important child advocate responsibilities below.
Communication skills. Many child advocate duties rely on communication skills. "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives," so a child advocate will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways child advocate responsibilities rely on communication skills: "conduct excellent crisis intervention and communication skills. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of child advocates is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday child advocate duties, as "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "developed strong interpersonal skills by offering emotional support to women in times of crisis. "
Organizational skills. For certain child advocate responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a child advocate rely on this skill, as "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what child advocates do: "provided basic counseling services to students enrolled in organizational programs with behavioral issues. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a child advocate to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what child advocates relies on this skill, since "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." How this skill relates to child advocate duties can be seen in an example from a child advocate resume snippet: "assist with crisis intervention and conflict resolution. "
Compassion. While "compassion" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to child advocate responsibilities. Much of what a child advocate does relies on this skill, seeing as "social workers often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of child advocates: "handle crisis calls in a compassionate and resourceful manner and document calls in database. "
The three companies that hire the most child advocates are:
- CARE3 child advocates jobs
- Centene2 child advocates jobs
- Child Advocacy Ctr
1 child advocates jobs
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Compare different child advocates
Child advocate vs. Youth development professional
Youth Development Professionals are specialists in implementing and overseeing programs to help adolescents discover their abilities and interests. They are responsible for coordinating career days and field trips, organizing mentorship sessions, create youth outreach projects, and assisting community organizations in youth provision development. Other duties include supporting the training of volunteer youth workers as well as ensuring service provided adheres to professional standards and current regulations. A Youth Development Professional may specialize in a specific development sector, such as healthy living, experiential learning, or public service.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a child advocate are more likely to require skills like "social work," "safety planning," "crisis intervention," and "mental health." On the other hand, a job as a youth development professional requires skills like "youth development," "direct care," "productive relationships," and "restraints." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that youth development professionals earn slightly differ from child advocates. In particular, youth development professionals are 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a child advocate. Additionally, they're 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Child advocate vs. Foster care worker
A Foster Care Worker helps improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families as well as increases the family's well-being and the academic functioning of children. They counsel families about issues regarding their child's care and develop healthy living situations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that child advocate responsibilities requires skills like "safety planning," "child advocacy," "court hearings," and "community outreach." But a foster care worker might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "foster care," "social services," "compassion," and "state regulations."
Foster care workers earn a higher average salary than child advocates. But foster care workers earn the highest pay in the construction industry, with an average salary of $50,830. Additionally, child advocates earn the highest salaries in the non profits with average pay of $37,931 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Foster care workers tend to reach higher levels of education than child advocates. In fact, they're 13.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for child advocates in the next 3-5 years?
Debra Minsky-Kelly
Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College
Child advocate vs. Student worker
Student workers are students who are employed while also enrolled at the university. They usually work in a department or college where they handle different tasks. Most of the time, student workers are assigned to do administrative activities. Their tasks include sorting mail, sending outgoing mail, manning telephone lines, filing documents, updating records, liaising with other departments, and documenting meetings, among others. Student-workers may also be assigned to handle or assist in university-wide events and activities. They are expected to be technologically savvy so that they can really help out in the department they are assigned to. Student-workers should be responsible, trustworthy, and diligent.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from child advocate resumes include skills like "social work," "safety planning," "crisis intervention," and "mental health," whereas a student worker is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "front desk," "twitter," and "financial aid. "
Student workers make a very good living in the retail industry with an average annual salary of $26,351. On the other hand, child advocates are paid the highest salary in the non profits industry, with average annual pay of $37,931.Most student workers achieve a lower degree level compared to child advocates. For example, they're 6.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Child advocate vs. Social worker
Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.
Types of child advocate
Updated January 8, 2025
