Community aide vs direct care counselor

The differences between community aides and direct care counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct care counselor has an average salary of $33,422, which is higher than the $23,688 average annual salary of a community aide.

The top three skills for a community aide include developmental disabilities, CPR and autism. The most important skills for a direct care counselor are crisis intervention, autism, and CPR.

Community aide vs direct care counselor overview

	Community Aide	Direct Care Counselor
Yearly salary	$23,688	$33,422
Hourly rate	$11.39	$16.07
Growth rate	12%	36%
Number of jobs	74,509	123,519
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	43	48
Years of experience	12	-

Community aide vs direct care counselor salary

Community aides and direct care counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Community Aide	Direct Care Counselor
Average salary	$23,688	$33,422
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $30,000	Between $22,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Santa Ana, CA	-
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	-
Best paying company	Trinity Health	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between community aide and direct care counselor education

There are a few differences between a community aide and a direct care counselor in terms of educational background:

	Community Aide	Direct Care Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	SUNY at Binghamton	-

Community aide vs direct care counselor demographics

Here are the differences between community aides' and direct care counselors' demographics:

	Community Aide	Direct Care Counselor
Average age	43	48
Gender ratio	Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8%	Male, 31.5% Female, 68.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 8.3% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	11%	7%

Differences between community aide and direct care counselor duties and responsibilities

Community aide example responsibilities.

Assist in managing inventory for student and staff culinary and scholastic supplies.
Provide relationship-base treatment plans to patients that involves high quality acute psychiatric evaluations, crisis stabilization, and intensive short-term treatment.
Collaborate with community health councils and other community agencies to provide programs that enhance community awareness of health and safety.

Direct care counselor example responsibilities.

Obtain SCIP-R, CPR, and AMAP certifications.
Provide training to residents in improving ADL and independent living skills per the IHP and any/all relate behavior or medical requirements.
Obtain AMAP certification and administer medications under the supervision of assign nursing staff.
Provide direct care assistance for campers with autism, intellectual disabilities, and/or developmental delays.
Perform one-on-one supervision of children with disabilities including autism, complex mental health problems, and complex behavioral problems.
Help develop and carry-out treatment goals for individual clients as outlined in treatment plans and/or ISP goals and objectives.

Community aide vs direct care counselor skills

Common community aide skills

Developmental Disabilities, 24%
CPR, 22%
Autism, 7%
Behavior Management, 6%
Community Resources, 5%
Front Desk, 4%

Common direct care counselor skills

Crisis Intervention, 12%
Autism, 11%
CPR, 10%
Developmental Disabilities, 10%
Incident Reports, 9%
Data Collection, 8%