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Family specialist vs child support specialist

The differences between family specialists 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 specialist and a child support specialist. Additionally, a family specialist has an average salary of $40,115, which is higher than the $38,271 average annual salary of a child support specialist.

The top three skills for a family specialist include social work, foster care and substance abuse. The most important skills for a child support specialist are customer service, social work, and child support cases.

Family specialist vs child support specialist overview

Family SpecialistChild Support Specialist
Yearly salary$40,115$38,271
Hourly rate$19.29$18.40
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs81,148143,623
Job satisfaction25
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a family specialist do?

A Family Specialist performs social work for families in need. They are focused on helping individuals and families to improve their lives.

What does a child support specialist do?

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 specialist vs child support specialist salary

Family specialists and child support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Family SpecialistChild Support Specialist
Average salary$40,115$38,271
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $51,000Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WARockville, MD
Highest paying stateWashingtonNew Jersey
Best paying companyBrigham and Women's HospitalUniversity of Rochester
Best paying industryTechnologyGovernment

Differences between family specialist and child support specialist education

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

Family SpecialistChild Support Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeSUNY at AlbanyUniversity of Pennsylvania

Family specialist vs child support specialist demographics

Here are the differences between family specialists' and child support specialists' demographics:

Family SpecialistChild Support Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 32.4% Female, 67.6%Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1%
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, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between family specialist and child support specialist duties and responsibilities

Family specialist example responsibilities.

  • Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
  • Complete family assessments and supervise visit documentation for family DHS worker and also for court hearing purposes.
  • Co-Facilitate state require GPS: MAPP training for prospective adoptive parents.
  • Do MAPP trainings with potential foster and adoptive parents to assist them to make an inform decision.
  • Assess the families' capacity to protect their children, and ensure compliance with the DHS safety plan.
  • Develop deep trust and credibility through empathy, integrity, compassion and consistently providing sound advice and helpful support.
  • Show more

Child support specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage project SharePoint site for the purpose of supporting ongoing collaboration
  • Train in CPR and child restraint.
  • Represent clients during mediation proceedings in court.
  • Process summons, subpoenas, appeals and motions.
  • Change diapers, clean and disinfect center to meet DHS standars.
  • Used mediation skills to dissolve disputes between custodial and non custodial parents.
  • Show more

Family specialist vs child support specialist skills

Common family specialist skills
  • Social Work, 22%
  • Foster Care, 11%
  • Substance Abuse, 7%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Child Abuse, 6%
  • Community Resources, 5%
Common child support specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Social Work, 8%
  • Child Support Cases, 8%
  • Court Orders, 6%
  • Child Support Orders, 6%
  • Child Support Enforcement, 5%

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