Children's service worker vs children's counselor

The differences between children's service workers and children's counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a children's service worker and a children's counselor. Additionally, a children's counselor has an average salary of $38,024, which is higher than the $35,625 average annual salary of a children's service worker.

The top three skills for a children's service worker include social work, foster care and law enforcement. The most important skills for a children's counselor are child care, social work, and mental health.

Children's service worker vs children's counselor overview

	Children's Service Worker	Children's Counselor
Yearly salary	$35,625	$38,024
Hourly rate	$17.13	$18.28
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	51,504	39,726
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Children's service worker vs children's counselor salary

Children's service workers and children's counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Children's Service Worker	Children's Counselor
Average salary	$35,625	$38,024
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $49,000	Between $21,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	Coon Rapids, MN	Torrance, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	State of West Virginia	Lake County
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between children's service worker and children's counselor education

There are a few differences between a children's service worker and a children's counselor in terms of educational background:

	Children's Service Worker	Children's Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	Boston University	University of Pennsylvania

Children's service worker vs children's counselor demographics

Here are the differences between children's service workers' and children's counselors' demographics:

	Children's Service Worker	Children's Counselor
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 21.0% Female, 79.0%	Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9%
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%

Differences between children's service worker and children's counselor duties and responsibilities

Children's service worker example responsibilities.

Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
Task supervisor for MSW graduate students for field placement.
Recognize risk factors quickly, collaborate with interdisciplinary team, nurture positive relationships with patients through consistency and modeling healthy boundaries.
Authorize medical necessity forms for Medicaid services.
Assure federal regulations and all eligibility requirements are follow when placing customers into proper Medicaid program.
Perform related adoptions and supervisory visits for state adoptions.

Children's counselor example responsibilities.

Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
Develop and attend treatment plan and IEP meetings for adolescents with mental diagnosis.
Maintain IEP goals and classroom management.
Provide behavior modification and social skills training to children and adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and emotional disorders.

Children's service worker vs children's counselor skills

Common children's service worker skills

Social Work, 10%
Foster Care, 10%
Law Enforcement, 7%
Community Resources, 6%
Substance Abuse, 6%
Protective Services, 6%

Common children's counselor skills

Child Care, 22%
Social Work, 12%
Mental Health, 10%
Crisis Intervention, 8%
Group Therapy, 7%
Family Therapy, 4%

Children's Service Worker vs. similar jobs

Children's Service Worker related careers

Children's Service Worker related jobs

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Community and Social Services Industry
Children's Service Worker
Children's Service Worker vs Children's Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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