Direct care staffer vs direct care provider

The differences between direct care staffers and direct care providers 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 $29,470 average annual salary of a direct care provider.

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

Direct care staffer vs direct care provider overview

	Direct Care Staffer	Direct Care Provider
Yearly salary	$30,480	$29,470
Hourly rate	$14.65	$14.17
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	117,658	117,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a direct care staffer do?

A Direct Care Staffer specializes in providing personal care and supervision to the disabled or elderly. Among the responsibilities include administering medication, managing schedules, assisting in hygienic tasks, preparing meals, and doing light to moderate household chores. Furthermore, A Direct Care Staffer also helps in transportation and preparation of daily meals, running various errands, purchasing groceries and daily necessities, and as well as monitoring health conditions. It is also essential for a Daily Care Staffer to update supervisors and guardians regularly.

What does a direct care provider do?

A Direct Care Worker specializes in providing care and assistance to patients, typically to the elderly. Their responsibilities include preparing and feeding meals, administering medication and other treatments, and monitoring their conditions, updating the physician or the patients' families regularly. They must also assist patients in various hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, or going to the toilet. There are instances when Direct Care Workers must perform various household tasks such as laundry, washing the dishes, shopping for groceries, and running errands as needed.

Direct care staffer vs direct care provider salary

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

	Direct Care Staffer	Direct Care Provider
Average salary	$30,480	$29,470
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $47,000	Between $20,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Salem, OR	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	Oregon	Alaska
Best paying company	New York University	Washington State University
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between direct care staffer and direct care provider education

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

	Direct Care Staffer	Direct Care Provider
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	-	-

Direct care staffer vs direct care provider demographics

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

	Direct Care Staffer	Direct Care Provider
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 27.5% Female, 72.5%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
Race ratio	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%	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 staffer and direct care provider duties and responsibilities

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 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 staffer vs direct care provider skills

Common direct care staffer skills

Mental Health, 14%
Developmental Disabilities, 8%
CPR, 8%
Patients, 6%
Autism, 6%
Crisis Intervention, 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 Staffer
Direct Care Staffer vs Direct Care Provider

Updated January 8, 2025

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