How to hire a children's service worker

Children's service worker hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring children's service workers in the United States:

There are currently 21,606 children's service workers in the US, as well as 51,504 job openings.
Children's service workers are in the highest demand in East Windsor, CT, with 2 current job openings.
The median cost to hire a children's service worker is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new children's service worker to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a children's service worker, step by step

To hire a children's service worker, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a children's service worker:

Here's a step-by-step children's service worker hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a children's service worker job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new children's service worker
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a children's service worker job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

Before you post your children's service worker job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a children's service worker for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a children's service worker to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a children's service worker that fits the bill.

This list presents children's service worker salaries for various positions.

Type of Children's Service Worker	Description	Hourly rate
Children's Service Worker	Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.	$12-23
Youth Advocate	Youth advocates are individuals who responsible for maintaining the human rights of youth while assisting them in developing their skills in all areas of life, such as education, health, employment, and relationships. These advocates are required to discuss youth development and involvement with various leaders in the community... Show more	$12-19
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... Show more	$9-45

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Social Work
- Foster Care
- Law Enforcement
- Community Resources
- Substance Abuse
- Protective Services
- Crisis Intervention
- Court Reports
- Social Services
- Mental Health
- Child Protective
- Sexual Abuse
- Court Hearings
- Community Agencies
Check all skills
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.
More children's service worker duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in your children's service worker job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A children's service worker can vary based on:

Location. For example, children's service workers' average salary in mississippi is 59% less than in new jersey.
Seniority. Entry-level children's service workers 49% less than senior-level children's service workers.
Certifications. A children's service worker with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a children's service worker's salary.

Average children's service worker salary

$35,625yearly

$17.13 hourly rate

Entry-level children's service worker salary

$25,000 yearly salary

Updated December 5, 2025

Average children's service worker salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Minnesota	$51,986	$25
2	New York	$42,600	$20
3	Texas	$40,917	$20
4	California	$39,263	$19
5	Massachusetts	$39,123	$19
6	Ohio	$36,926	$18
7	Utah	$34,697	$17
8	Florida	$29,854	$14

Average children's service worker salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	State of West Virginia	$53,244	$25.60	84
2	Lower Eastside Service Center	$49,634	$23.86
3	Napa County, California	$49,131	$23.62	1
4	State of Connecticut	$43,321	$20.83	6
5	The State of Oregon	$37,986	$18.26	9
6	Reno, NV	$35,713	$17.17
7	Sodexo Management, Inc.	$35,684	$17.16	359
8	Del Mar Union School District	$35,509	$17.07	1
9	Brea Olinda Unified School District	$35,066	$16.86	6
10	SPUR	$32,780	$15.76
11	Lompoc Unified School District	$32,410	$15.58
12	Aramark	$27,458	$13.20	1,553
13	Fraser Ltd	$26,499	$12.74	12

Writing a children's service worker job description
A good children's service worker job description should include a few things:
- Summary of the role
- List of responsibilities
- Required skills and experience
Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a children's service worker job description:
Children's service worker job description example
* SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - RANDOLPH COUNTY*

This announcement is for an immediate hiring need with BCF - Region 3 Children's Home located in Randolph county. When applying online, be sure to mark this and any other county you would be willing to work in, so you can be placed on the proper register. See below for special application instructions and a description of the position.

HOW TO APPLY:

CLICK HERE to Apply Online. You will be redirected to our Social Service Worker 3 "continuous" listing where you will be able to submit your application by clicking the APPLY link at the top right of that page.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) / Bureau for Children and Families (BCF)/ Region 3/ Children's Home, Randolph County - The Social Service Worker is responsible for performing on-going individual and group counseling with a caseload assignment. Reviews and develops service plans for youth. Participates weekly in treatment plans process. Schedules psychological and psychiatric exams for youth. Prepares progress reports and conducts MDT's as required. Conducts and prepares schedules for in-house life skills training. Responsible for intakes. Work requires a valid driver's license

As a condition of employment, an inquiry into job-related information will be completed which may include, but not limited to, criminal records, abuse registry records, driving records, employment history, and education and training. Failing to cooperate with this process, providing false and incomplete information, or discovery of disqualifying information will result in denial of or dismissal from employment or denial of transfer irrespective of when discovered.

Training: Bachelor's degree in Social Work from an accredited college or university.

Substitution: Bachelor's degree in Sociology, Psychology, Counseling, Criminal Justice, Behavioral Science, Interpersonal Communications, Human Services, Education, Special Education, Elementary Education, or Secondary Education from an accredited college or university may be substituted for the degree in Social Work

OR

current West Virginia Social Work License.

Special Requirement: Eligible for Temporary Social Work License OR Licensed as a Social Worker, Graduate Social Worker, or Certified Social Worker by the West Virginia Board of Social Work Examiners.

For Bureau for Children and Families

Training: Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university.

Substitution: Current West Virginia Social Work License.
Post your job
There are a few common ways to find children's service workers for your business:
- Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
- Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
- Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
Post your job online:
- Post your children's service worker job on Zippia to find and recruit children's service worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
To successfully recruit children's service workers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new children's service worker
Once you have selected a candidate for the children's service worker position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.
You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.
Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new children's service worker. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a children's service worker?

Recruiting children's service workers involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $35,625 per year for a children's service worker, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for children's service workers in the US typically range between $12 and $23 an hour.

Find better children's service workers in less time

Post a job on Zippia and hire the best from over 7 million monthly job seekers.

Hiring children's service workers FAQs

How much does a good children's service worker cost?

What are the duties of a children's service worker?

Should I hire a children's service worker with no experience?

Search for children's service worker jobs

Ready to start hiring?

Updated December 5, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs

How to hire a children's service worker