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The differences between family service workers and child support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a family service worker and a child support specialist. Additionally, a child support specialist has an average salary of $38,271, which is higher than the $37,674 average annual salary of a family service worker.
The top three skills for a family service worker include social work, foster care and child abuse. The most important skills for a child support specialist are customer service, social work, and child support cases.
| Family Service Worker | Child Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,674 | $38,271 |
| Hourly rate | $18.11 | $18.40 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 111,599 | 143,623 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A family service worker is in charge of providing support services to families in a community, referring them to other agencies or programs as needed. They serve as the primary point of contact of family members, ensuring they maintain an active line of communication. Their responsibilities typically revolve around enrolling family members into social services programs, gathering and verifying information, maintaining databases, and assisting in all procedures, all while updating families for any progress. Furthermore, a family service worker needs to coordinate with other social workers to provide the most effective service.
A child support specialist is primarily in charge of monitoring child support payments, ensuring individuals with financial obligations comply with the legal settlement terms. They mainly work in the legal industry, where their responsibilities include assessing the clients' financial situations, gathering and analyzing financial statements, performing interviews and follow-up calls, and producing regular progress reports. Furthermore, as a child support specialist, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions and procedures, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
Family service workers and child support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Family Service Worker | Child Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,674 | $38,271 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $49,000 | Between $29,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chicago, IL | Rockville, MD |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Washington County | University of Rochester |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a family service worker and a child support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Family Service Worker | Child Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | Hunter College of the City University of New York | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between family service workers' and child support specialists' demographics:
| Family Service Worker | Child Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.8% Female, 85.2% | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 10% | 10% |