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The differences between child protective investigators and family service workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a child protective investigator and a family service worker. Additionally, a child protective investigator has an average salary of $47,903, which is higher than the $37,674 average annual salary of a family service worker.
The top three skills for a child protective investigator include patrol, social work and local law enforcement. The most important skills for a family service worker are social work, foster care, and child abuse.
| Child Protective Investigator | Family Service Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $47,903 | $37,674 |
| Hourly rate | $23.03 | $18.11 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 15,938 | 111,599 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A child protective investigator is responsible for investigating incident reports for child-violating cases, collecting court evidence of child abuse, and keeping the child under safe custody for protection. Child protective investigators conduct field investigations by locating the area of concern, interviewing witnesses, and analyzing similar cases of violence. They coordinate with medical professionals to check the child's condition and record any signs of trauma and injuries. A child protective investigator may also attend court procedures to represent the child and testify to press charges with the abuser.
A family service worker is in charge of providing support services to families in a community, referring them to other agencies or programs as needed. They serve as the primary point of contact of family members, ensuring they maintain an active line of communication. Their responsibilities typically revolve around enrolling family members into social services programs, gathering and verifying information, maintaining databases, and assisting in all procedures, all while updating families for any progress. Furthermore, a family service worker needs to coordinate with other social workers to provide the most effective service.
Child protective investigators and family service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Protective Investigator | Family Service Worker | |
| Average salary | $47,903 | $37,674 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $61,000 | Between $28,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Camden, NJ | Chicago, IL |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Saks Fifth Avenue | Washington County |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a child protective investigator and a family service worker in terms of educational background:
| Child Protective Investigator | Family Service Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Social Work |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | Hunter College of the City University of New York |
Here are the differences between child protective investigators' and family service workers' demographics:
| Child Protective Investigator | Family Service Worker | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6% | Male, 14.8% Female, 85.2% |
| 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% |