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Family service worker vs crisis intervention specialist

The differences between family service workers and crisis intervention 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 crisis intervention specialist. Additionally, a crisis intervention specialist has an average salary of $54,678, 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 crisis intervention specialist are social work, patients, and substance abuse.

Family service worker vs crisis intervention specialist overview

Family Service WorkerCrisis Intervention Specialist
Yearly salary$37,674$54,678
Hourly rate$18.11$26.29
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs111,59980,817
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4245
Years of experience44

What does a family service worker do?

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.

What does a crisis intervention specialist do?

A crisis intervention specialist provides counseling services and intervention to patients in high-stress situations. Their responsibilities include conducting assessments to understand the clients' conditions, studying their medical histories and personal background, developing treatment plans, and regularly monitoring their behavior and progress. They may also coordinate with the patients' families or guardians, provide care advice, or refer patients to other specialists when necessary. Moreover, a crisis intervention specialist gives emotional support and guidance to patients, helping them deal with stress.

Family service worker vs crisis intervention specialist salary

Family service workers and crisis intervention specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Family Service WorkerCrisis Intervention Specialist
Average salary$37,674$54,678
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $49,000Between $40,000 And $73,000
Highest paying CityChicago, ILHoboken, NJ
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyWashington CountyLegacy Health
Best paying industryGovernmentProfessional

Differences between family service worker and crisis intervention specialist education

There are a few differences between a family service worker and a crisis intervention specialist in terms of educational background:

Family Service WorkerCrisis Intervention Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorSocial WorkPsychology
Most common collegeHunter College of the City University of New YorkCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Family service worker vs crisis intervention specialist demographics

Here are the differences between family service workers' and crisis intervention specialists' demographics:

Family Service WorkerCrisis Intervention Specialist
Average age4245
Gender ratioMale, 14.8% Female, 85.2%Male, 29.6% Female, 70.4%
Race ratioBlack 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, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage10%15%

Differences between family service worker and crisis intervention specialist duties and responsibilities

Family service worker example responsibilities.

  • Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
  • Practice motivational interviewing techniques to assist individuals in identifying personal hurdles in order to set goals and work towards rehabilitation.
  • Establish and maintain relationships with stakeholder (DSS staff, schools and community partners).
  • Integrate the individual support plan (ISP) objective into the individuals' daily schedule.
  • Provide courtesy interviews or conflict investigations for other county DSS.
  • Determine participants' eligibility for program by gathering data and maintaining information to ensure clients are compliant for TANF program regulations.

Crisis intervention specialist example responsibilities.

  • Provide clinical assessments, crisis intervention and supportive counseling for patients who are involuntary admissions.
  • Provide content lead support on mathematics assessment projects/contracts.
  • Provide mathematics content expertise and consultation to meet and support customer specify goals.
  • Prepare, arrange, and facilitate involuntary and voluntary inpatient psychiatric hospitalization placement for patients when clinically indicate.
  • Provide individual counseling, weekly psycho-educational groups in DBT and substance abuse prevention, crisis intervention and administration of clinical intakes.
  • Author and review items for ESL assessments, including TOEFL and TOEIC tests.
  • Show more

Family service worker vs crisis intervention specialist skills

Common family service worker skills
  • Social Work, 18%
  • Foster Care, 10%
  • Child Abuse, 9%
  • Protective Services, 5%
  • Mental Health, 5%
  • Court Reports, 4%
Common crisis intervention specialist skills
  • Social Work, 15%
  • Patients, 12%
  • Substance Abuse, 7%
  • Community Resources, 5%
  • Crisis Stabilization, 5%
  • Triage, 4%

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