Domestic violence advocate vs family support specialist

The differences between domestic violence advocates and family support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a domestic violence advocate, becoming a family support specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a domestic violence advocate has an average salary of $47,440, which is higher than the $37,343 average annual salary of a family support specialist.

The top three skills for a domestic violence advocate include safety planning, domestic violence victims and legal advocacy. The most important skills for a family support specialist are social work, child abuse, and patients.

Domestic violence advocate vs family support specialist overview

	Domestic Violence Advocate	Family Support Specialist
Yearly salary	$47,440	$37,343
Hourly rate	$22.81	$17.95
Growth rate	12%	9%
Number of jobs	68,579	143,739
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	43	42
Years of experience	12	4

Domestic violence advocate vs family support specialist salary

Domestic violence advocates and family support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Domestic Violence Advocate	Family Support Specialist
Average salary	$47,440	$37,343
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $77,000	Between $24,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	Jersey City, NJ	Trenton, NJ
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New Jersey
Best paying company	Sinai Chicago	Catholic Health East
Best paying industry	Government	Professional

Differences between domestic violence advocate and family support specialist education

There are a few differences between a domestic violence advocate and a family support specialist in terms of educational background:

	Domestic Violence Advocate	Family Support Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Hunter College of the City University of New York

Domestic violence advocate vs family support specialist demographics

Here are the differences between domestic violence advocates' and family support specialists' demographics:

	Domestic Violence Advocate	Family Support Specialist
Average age	43	42
Gender ratio	Male, 8.6% Female, 91.4%	Male, 14.0% Female, 86.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 5.9% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1%	Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	10%

Differences between domestic violence advocate and family support specialist duties and responsibilities

Domestic violence advocate example responsibilities.

Assist patients in securing medical coverage by screening refer patients and coordinating the application process through successful approval.
Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor and work as a team member with the YWCA staff and administration.

Family support specialist example responsibilities.

Manage RSP curriculum for wide spectrum of needs including LD and autism.
Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
Provide first aid or CPR.
Provide intensive services to families that are DHS who are determine to be reunify with their families.
Attend and participate in weekly staff meetings, individual supervision, and other meetings require by DCF.
Provide activities supervision and individual counseling to DCFS wards of the state within a therapeutic milieu setting.

Domestic violence advocate vs family support specialist skills

Common domestic violence advocate skills

Safety Planning, 18%
Domestic Violence Victims, 8%
Legal Advocacy, 7%
Social Work, 5%
Community Resources, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 5%

Common family support specialist skills

Social Work, 23%
Child Abuse, 9%
Patients, 7%
Child Development, 4%
Crisis Intervention, 4%
Foster Care, 4%

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Domestic Violence Advocate
Domestic Violence Advocate vs Family Support Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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