Direct care worker vs direct support associate

The differences between direct care workers and direct support associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct support associate has an average salary of $29,934, which is higher than the $29,343 average annual salary of a direct care worker.

The top three skills for a direct care worker include direct care, patients and CPR. The most important skills for a direct support associate are intellectual disabilities, emotional support, and developmental disabilities.

Direct care worker vs direct support associate overview

	Direct Care Worker	Direct Support Associate
Yearly salary	$29,343	$29,934
Hourly rate	$14.11	$14.39
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	140,788	111,451
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a direct care worker do?

A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule. Furthermore, it is also the duty of a Direct Care Worker to empathize and build rapport with clients to make them feel more at ease.

What does a direct support associate do?

Direct Support Associates are responsible for aiding individuals with developmental, mental, or physical disabilities in their daily living activities. Their duties include administering prescribed medications, coach patients to develop money management, housekeeping, and social skills, and provide feedback to patients in areas of improvement. They are also involved in supervising skills-building activities, meal preparations, schedule organization, and produces patient progress report. Direct Support Associates also maintain a supportive relationship with the client to foster social engagement and community inclusion.

Direct care worker vs direct support associate salary

Direct care workers and direct support associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Direct Care Worker	Direct Support Associate
Average salary	$29,343	$29,934
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $36,000	Between $16,000 And $52,000
Highest paying City	Portland, ME	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Arizona Training & Evaluation Center	The Carlyle Group
Best paying industry	Professional	Manufacturing

Differences between direct care worker and direct support associate education

There are a few differences between a direct care worker and a direct support associate in terms of educational background:

	Direct Care Worker	Direct Support Associate
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	-	-

Direct care worker vs direct support associate demographics

Here are the differences between direct care workers' and direct support associates' demographics:

	Direct Care Worker	Direct Support Associate
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 23.4% Female, 76.6%	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 8.8% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between direct care worker and direct support associate duties and responsibilities

Direct care worker example responsibilities.

Provide caring companionship to elderly and developmentally disable patients with or without chronic health diagnosis.
Assist individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities with ADL's.
Conduct socialization groups to aid individuals in development of ADL and socialization skills.
Prepare daily documents administer medications handle patients hygiene house cleaning and provide transportation to and from appointment
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Provide day to day services that include transport, nutrition, hygiene, housekeeping and activities to MRDD clients.

Direct support associate example responsibilities.

Assist patients with ADL's, while individualizing patient care, and allowing patients to be as independent as possible.
Assist individuals with ADL's such as grooming, toileting, feeding, and escorting on community outings.
Assist clients with everyday living task/skills, transportation into the community, developmental skills, ISP, medication administration.
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 worker vs direct support associate skills

Common direct care worker skills

Direct Care, 22%
Patients, 11%
CPR, 7%
Developmental Disabilities, 4%
Crisis Intervention, 4%
Vital Signs, 4%

Common direct support associate skills

Intellectual Disabilities, 19%
Emotional Support, 18%
Developmental Disabilities, 15%
Administer Medications, 4%
Autism, 4%
Group Homes, 4%

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Zippia Careers
Personal Care and Attendants Industry
Direct Care Worker
Direct Care Worker vs Direct Support Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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