Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between child protective specialists and child protective investigators 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 specialist and a child protective investigator. Additionally, a child protective specialist has an average salary of $52,032, which is higher than the $47,903 average annual salary of a child protective investigator.
The top three skills for a child protective specialist include social work, social services and mental health. The most important skills for a child protective investigator are patrol, social work, and local law enforcement.
| Child Protective Specialist | Child Protective Investigator | |
| Yearly salary | $52,032 | $47,903 |
| Hourly rate | $25.02 | $23.03 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 75,325 | 15,938 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Child Protective Specialist is a social worker who handles suspected cases of abuse and neglect in children. They focus on performing research and investigation, conducting home visits and inspections, interviewing families and potential witnesses, gathering evidence, and reaching out to hospitals or schools to collect and analyze data. Through the findings of their investigation, a Child Protective Specialist draws conclusions and develops recommendations for the children's safety and welfare. Moreover, there are instances where they conduct interventions, refer families to other agencies, or coordinate with law enforcement.
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.
Child protective specialists and child protective investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Protective Specialist | Child Protective Investigator | |
| Average salary | $52,032 | $47,903 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $65,000 | Between $37,000 And $61,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Camden, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Children's National Medical Center | Saks Fifth Avenue |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Government |
There are a few differences between a child protective specialist and a child protective investigator in terms of educational background:
| Child Protective Specialist | Child Protective Investigator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | SUNY at Albany |
Here are the differences between child protective specialists' and child protective investigators' demographics:
| Child Protective Specialist | Child Protective Investigator | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 21.2% Female, 78.8% | Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6% |
| 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% |