Direct care professional vs direct care provider

The differences between direct care professionals and direct care providers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct care professional has an average salary of $30,233, which is higher than the $29,470 average annual salary of a direct care provider.

The top three skills for a direct care professional include ADL, developmental disabilities and mental health. The most important skills for a direct care provider are CPR, developmental disabilities, and mental health.

Direct care professional vs direct care provider overview

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Provider
Yearly salary	$30,233	$29,470
Hourly rate	$14.54	$14.17
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	122,720	117,168
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

Direct care professional vs direct care provider salary

Direct care professionals and direct care providers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Provider
Average salary	$30,233	$29,470
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $41,000	Between $20,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Vacaville, CA	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	Alaska
Best paying company	Halliburton	Washington State University
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between direct care professional and direct care provider education

There are a few differences between a direct care professional and a direct care provider in terms of educational background:

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Provider
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	-	-

Direct care professional vs direct care provider demographics

Here are the differences between direct care professionals' and direct care providers' demographics:

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Provider
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 7.9% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between direct care professional and direct care provider duties and responsibilities

Direct care professional example responsibilities.

Help each individual patient accomplish their specific ISP goals on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Provide round the clock care alone with daily help of ADL's, transport consumers to and from appointments.
Provide ongoing consultation and support to parents of students with autism and facilitate ongoing collaboration with parents and staff members.
Provide services and supports to individuals with mental retardation and relate disabilities, head or spinal cord injuries, or autism.
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Preform necessary SCIP safety moves to prevent consumers from hurting themselves or others.

Direct care provider example responsibilities.

Require certification in MANDT and CPR.
Coach and train clients to improve their daily living (ADL), social interaction and job skills.
Provide instruction and assist the consumers with active daily living (ADL) skills such as cooking, bathing, dressing.
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Facilitate exercise, vocational, arts-n-crafts, and daily living skills groups for consumers with DD.

Direct care professional vs direct care provider skills

Common direct care professional skills

ADL, 15%
Developmental Disabilities, 13%
Mental Health, 7%
Autism, 7%
Direct Support, 6%
Social Work, 5%

Common direct care provider skills

CPR, 24%
Developmental Disabilities, 23%
Mental Health, 5%
Direct Care, 4%
Intellectual Disabilities, 4%
Home Health, 4%

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Personal Care and Attendants Industry
Direct Care Professional
Direct Care Professional vs Direct Care Provider

Updated January 8, 2025

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