How to hire a direct care staffer

How to hire a direct care staffer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step direct care staffer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a direct care staffer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new direct care staffer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a direct care staffer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the direct care staffer you need to hire. Certain direct care staffer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A direct care staffer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, direct care staffers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents direct care staffer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Direct Care Staffer	Description	Hourly rate
   Direct Care Staffer	Personal care aides help clients with self-care and everyday tasks. They also provide social supports and assistance that enable clients to participate in their communities.	$9-22
   Provider	Health care providers are health professionals and health organizations offering health care treatment and diagnosis services. These professionals play significant roles with patients through consultation, treatment, and advice... Show more	$17-50
   Residential Counselor	A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Mental Health
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • CPR
   • Patients
   • Autism
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Behavioral Issues
   • Medical Appointments
   • Community Outings
   • Vital Signs
   • Role Model
   • Behavior Management
   • Mental Illness
   • Data Collection

   Check all skills

   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.

   More direct care staffer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your direct care staffer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A direct care staffer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a direct care staffer in Indiana may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level direct care staffer usually earns less than a senior-level direct care staffer. Additionally, a direct care staffer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average direct care staffer salary

   $14.65hourly

   $30,480 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level direct care staffer salary

   $19,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average direct care staffer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Oregon	$37,109	$18
   2	California	$36,326	$17
   3	New York	$35,388	$17
   4	Connecticut	$32,311	$16
   5	Massachusetts	$32,109	$15
   6	Texas	$31,513	$15
   7	Arizona	$29,036	$14
   8	Pennsylvania	$28,960	$14
   9	North Carolina	$27,562	$13
   10	Minnesota	$27,474	$13
   11	Tennessee	$27,468	$13
   12	Idaho	$26,844	$13
   13	Nevada	$26,833	$13
   14	Utah	$26,094	$13
   15	Ohio	$25,963	$12
   16	Iowa	$25,882	$12
   17	Alabama	$25,878	$12
   18	Maryland	$25,505	$12
   19	Missouri	$24,496	$12
   20	South Carolina	$24,044	$12

   Average direct care staffer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	New York University	$61,953	$29.79
   2	Organogenesis	$44,342	$21.32
   3	Central Lakes College	$40,618	$19.53
   4	Ohio's Hospice of Dayton	$36,358	$17.48	14
   5	Community Health Connections	$35,961	$17.29
   6	Dignity Health	$34,958	$16.81	72
   7	Thales Academy	$34,616	$16.64
   8	Lifesteps	$33,425	$16.07	332
   9	Maryland School for the Blind	$33,255	$15.99	1
   10	Novant Health	$33,211	$15.97	39
   11	Centene	$32,824	$15.78	39
   12	Health First	$32,736	$15.74	1
   13	Clearview Local School District	$32,523	$15.64
   14	Lincoln Financial Group	$32,256	$15.51
   15	Spectrum Health	$31,291	$15.04
   16	The Center for Health Care Services	$31,174	$14.99	8
   17	Freedom Health	$31,132	$14.97
   18	Colfax Corporation	$30,995	$14.90
   19	Conemaugh Health System	$30,731	$14.77
   20	Riverstone Holdings	$30,645	$14.73

4. Writing a direct care staffer job description

   A direct care staffer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a direct care staffer job description:

   Direct care staffer job description example

   * Now starting at $18 an hour! With increases based on previous experience in the field! And a sign-on bonus of $1000! *

   *We have hours flexible to meet your schedule, but for right now we are mostly hiring for evenings, weekends, and part-time roles*

   Working Direct Care with The Arc of the Ozarks is a life-changing experience.

   What do Direct Care Staff do?

   • Support individuals with disabilities in directing their own lives as valued members of the community.
   • We’ll give you all the paid training you need to continue making our mission a reality.

   Who do Direct Care Staff support?

   • Each person we serve is an individual with different goals and needs. We specialize in different areas (dual-diagnosis, Autism-services, and medically fragile to name a few) but we don’t let labels drive our thinking.
   • As you go through the interview process, you will learn more about our specializations and get to pick the brains of experts in our field.

   How do Direct Care Staff support these individuals?

   • We assist them in their daily living, whether that’s personal hygiene, social skills, community involvement, or employment.
   • We encourage them to pursue their goals and help break down the steps needed to reach those goals.
   • We assist them in getting to places they want and need to go in the community.
   • We record the progress and daily activities they make so we can celebrate their growth.

   We want your passion and care. You want to find a career that values you for your unique self. So go ahead and apply to be a Direct Care Staff at The Arc of the Ozarks. We can’t wait to meet you.

   The Arc of the Ozarks is an equal opportunity employer.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right direct care staffer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your direct care staffer job on Zippia to find and recruit direct care staffer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit direct care staffers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new direct care staffer

   Once you've found the direct care staffer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new direct care staffer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a direct care staffer?