Direct support associate vs care provider

The differences between direct support associates and care providers 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 $29,652 average annual salary of a care provider.

The top three skills for a direct support associate include intellectual disabilities, emotional support and developmental disabilities. The most important skills for a care provider are senior care, patients, and administer medications.

Direct support associate vs care provider overview

	Direct Support Associate	Care Provider
Yearly salary	$29,934	$29,652
Hourly rate	$14.39	$14.26
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	111,451	169,562
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	High School Diploma, 30%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

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.

What does a care provider do?

A care provider is responsible for assisting patients with their healthcare needs at the highest quality service. Care providers work in various medical organizations or are privately employed by a household. They perform medical procedures such as taking the patient's temperature and vital signs, monitoring their food intake, administering medications, collecting specimens for laboratory tests, and reporting the patient's condition to the attending physician or other health care professionals. A care provider must have excellent communication and organization skills, especially when consulting with patients for their needs and developing healthcare plans.

Direct support associate vs care provider salary

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

	Direct Support Associate	Care Provider
Average salary	$29,934	$29,652
Salary range	Between $16,000 And $52,000	Between $17,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Attleboro, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	The Carlyle Group	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Government

Differences between direct support associate and care provider education

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

	Direct Support Associate	Care Provider
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	High School Diploma, 30%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Direct support associate vs care provider demographics

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

	Direct Support Associate	Care Provider
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%	Male, 22.1% Female, 77.9%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between direct support associate and care provider duties and responsibilities

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.

Care provider example responsibilities.

Manage provider network to include verifying claims and benefits for healthcare providers/members and insurance companies.
Aid and facilitate higher functioning patients reach their fullest potential while managing behavioral episodes as needed.
Accompany to medical appointments, administer medications, assist with ADL's, community integration, personal care, and therapeutic activities
Review appeals for Medicare non-participating providers following CMS specific guidelines for these providers.
Provide direct patient care to critical and non-critical emergency department patients as an experience EMT-Paramedic.
Change tracheal tube and catheter.

Direct support associate vs care provider skills

Common direct support associate skills

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

Common care provider skills

Senior Care, 23%
Patients, 13%
Administer Medications, 6%
Direct Care, 6%
Meal Prep, 6%
Patient Care, 6%

Direct Support Associate vs. similar jobs

Direct Support Associate related careers

Direct Support Associate related jobs

What similar roles do

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

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse personal care and attendants jobs