Direct care professional vs direct care staffer

The differences between direct care professionals and direct care staffers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct care staffer has an average salary of $30,480, which is higher than the $30,233 average annual salary of a direct care professional.

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

Direct care professional vs direct care staffer overview

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Staffer
Yearly salary	$30,233	$30,480
Hourly rate	$14.54	$14.65
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	122,720	117,658
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

Direct care professional vs direct care staffer salary

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

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Staffer
Average salary	$30,233	$30,480
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $41,000	Between $19,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Vacaville, CA	Salem, OR
Highest paying state	Washington	Oregon
Best paying company	Halliburton	New York University
Best paying industry	Government	Manufacturing

Differences between direct care professional and direct care staffer education

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

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Staffer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	-	-

Direct care professional vs direct care staffer demographics

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

	Direct Care Professional	Direct Care Staffer
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0%	Male, 27.5% Female, 72.5%
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, 10.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between direct care professional and direct care staffer 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 staffer example responsibilities.

Provide and care for highly volatile patients, administering CPI when require.
Train and supervise individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Assist consumers in development and maintenance of adaptive daily living skills.
Maintain client and community safety through appropriate application of CPI NVCI training.
Assist residence with disabilities, by bathing them, feeding and showing compassion.
Work with Kronos (timekeeping system) and making schedules for the DSP.

Direct care professional vs direct care staffer 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 staffer skills

Mental Health, 14%
Developmental Disabilities, 8%
CPR, 8%
Patients, 6%
Autism, 6%
Crisis Intervention, 5%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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