Detention worker vs child advocate

The differences between detention workers and child advocates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a detention worker and a child advocate. Additionally, a child advocate has an average salary of $37,885, which is higher than the $35,072 average annual salary of a detention worker.

The top three skills for a detention worker include crisis intervention, perform intake and incident reports. The most important skills for a child advocate are social work, safety planning, and crisis intervention.

Detention worker vs child advocate overview

	Detention Worker	Child Advocate
Yearly salary	$35,072	$37,885
Hourly rate	$16.86	$18.21
Growth rate	10%	9%
Number of jobs	21,863	88,678
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Detention worker vs child advocate salary

Detention workers and child advocates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Detention Worker	Child Advocate
Average salary	$35,072	$37,885
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $55,000	Between $30,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	-	Pasadena, TX
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Suncoast Center
Best paying industry	-	Non Profits

Differences between detention worker and child advocate education

There are a few differences between a detention worker and a child advocate in terms of educational background:

	Detention Worker	Child Advocate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Hunter College of the City University of New York

Detention worker vs child advocate demographics

Here are the differences between detention workers' and child advocates' demographics:

	Detention Worker	Child Advocate
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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	8%	10%

Differences between detention worker and child advocate duties and responsibilities

Detention worker example responsibilities.

Lead support groups with an emphasis on recovery and strength base techniques, DBT, CBT, self-care and coping skills.
Recognize risk factors quickly, collaborate with interdisciplinary team, nurture positive relationships with patients through consistency and modeling healthy boundaries.
Examine injured persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.

Child advocate example responsibilities.

Offer immediate practical assistance to the family in obtaining Medicaid coverage, financial assistance or help with housing.
Assist patients in securing medical coverage by screening refer patients and coordinating the application process through successful approval.
Complete risk assessments and develop comprehensive intervention plans to address safety, communication, and problem solving abilities.

Detention worker vs child advocate skills

Common detention worker skills

Crisis Intervention, 22%
Perform Intake, 13%
Incident Reports, 13%
Emergency Situations, 12%
CPR, 7%
Juvenile Programs, 5%

Common child advocate skills

Social Work, 16%
Safety Planning, 11%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Mental Health, 7%
Child Abuse, 5%
Child Advocacy, 5%