Direct support associate vs direct care provider

The differences between direct support associates and direct 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 $29,470 average annual salary of a direct 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 direct care provider are CPR, developmental disabilities, and mental health.

Direct support associate vs direct care provider overview

	Direct Support Associate	Direct Care Provider
Yearly salary	$29,934	$29,470
Hourly rate	$14.39	$14.17
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	111,451	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 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 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 support associate vs direct care provider salary

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

	Direct Support Associate	Direct Care Provider
Average salary	$29,934	$29,470
Salary range	Between $16,000 And $52,000	Between $20,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	The Carlyle Group	Washington State University
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between direct support associate and direct care provider education

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

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

Direct support associate vs direct care provider demographics

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

	Direct Support Associate	Direct Care Provider
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
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, 9.7% 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 support associate and direct 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.

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 support associate vs direct 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 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 Support Associate
Direct Support Associate vs Direct Care Provider

Updated January 8, 2025

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