Child care attendant vs direct care worker

The differences between child care attendants and direct care workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct care worker has an average salary of $29,343, which is higher than the $27,542 average annual salary of a child care attendant.

The top three skills for a child care attendant include CPR, customer service and meal prep. The most important skills for a direct care worker are direct care, patients, and CPR.

Child care attendant vs direct care worker overview

	Child Care Attendant	Direct Care Worker
Yearly salary	$27,542	$29,343
Hourly rate	$13.24	$14.11
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	156,197	140,788
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 32%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a child care attendant do?

Also called childcare workers, childcare attendants attend to children at private households, schools, businesses, and childcare institutions. Childcare attendants dress, bathe, feed, and oversee children. They manage and monitor children's safety in whatever way. It is part of their duties and responsibilities to organize learning activities and enforce a curriculum that allows children to explore their interests. They have to be equipped with necessary skills like decision making, communication, monitoring, being patient, and being enthusiastic.

What does a direct care worker do?

A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule. Furthermore, it is also the duty of a Direct Care Worker to empathize and build rapport with clients to make them feel more at ease.

Child care attendant vs direct care worker salary

Child care attendants and direct care workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Child Care Attendant	Direct Care Worker
Average salary	$27,542	$29,343
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $43,000	Between $23,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	Lifespan	Arizona Training & Evaluation Center
Best paying industry	Education	Professional

Differences between child care attendant and direct care worker education

There are a few differences between a child care attendant and a direct care worker in terms of educational background:

	Child Care Attendant	Direct Care Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 32%
Most common major	Business	Psychology
Most common college	-	-

Child care attendant vs direct care worker demographics

Here are the differences between child care attendants' and direct care workers' demographics:

	Child Care Attendant	Direct Care Worker
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 12.9% Female, 87.1%	Male, 23.4% Female, 76.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between child care attendant and direct care worker duties and responsibilities

Child care attendant example responsibilities.

Aid and facilitate higher functioning patients reach their fullest potential while managing behavioral episodes as needed.
Attend to the basic needs of patients, including physical therapy, companionship, food preparation and personal hygiene.
Assist with ADL and transport to Dr's appointments and shopping.
Obtain and evaluate patient medication regimens, allergies, lab values and past/current medication history utilizing electronic medical records.
Assist nurses in placing catheters, emptying and changing bags.
take vitals, give medications, fill oxygen tanks, empty catheters.

Direct care worker example responsibilities.

Provide caring companionship to elderly and developmentally disable patients with or without chronic health diagnosis.
Assist individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities with ADL's.
Conduct socialization groups to aid individuals in development of ADL and socialization skills.
Prepare daily documents administer medications handle patients hygiene house cleaning and provide transportation to and from appointment
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Provide day to day services that include transport, nutrition, hygiene, housekeeping and activities to MRDD clients.

Child care attendant vs direct care worker skills

Common child care attendant skills

CPR, 26%
Customer Service, 24%
Meal Prep, 15%
Vital Signs, 6%
Companionship, 5%
Front Desk, 3%

Common direct care worker skills

Direct Care, 22%
Patients, 11%
CPR, 7%
Developmental Disabilities, 4%
Crisis Intervention, 4%
Vital Signs, 4%

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Zippia Careers
Personal Care and Attendants Industry
Child Care Attendant
Child Care Attendant vs Direct Care Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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