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The differences between family workers and foster care workers 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 worker and a foster care worker. Additionally, a foster care worker has an average salary of $46,037, which is higher than the $36,992 average annual salary of a family worker.
The top three skills for a family worker include social work, foster care and child care. The most important skills for a foster care worker are foster care, social work, and child abuse.
| Family Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $36,992 | $46,037 |
| Hourly rate | $17.78 | $22.13 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 101,552 | 151,625 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A family worker's role is to provide an intervention with parents, children, and young persons to help improve outcomes for families and children. The job they do includes working with parents to help strengthen family relationships and their ability to provide support and be community involved closely. They implement a program that helps parents recognize a child's needs, encouraging child self-esteem development, and positive behavior. Moreover, other duties include giving referrals to other community services as required and to assess family progress.
A Foster Care Worker helps improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families as well as increases the family's well-being and the academic functioning of children. They counsel families about issues regarding their child's care and develop healthy living situations.
Family workers and foster care workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Family Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Average salary | $36,992 | $46,037 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $48,000 | Between $32,000 And $65,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Baltimore, MD |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Riverview Health |
| Best paying industry | - | Construction |
There are a few differences between a family worker and a foster care worker in terms of educational background:
| Family Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Social Work |
| Most common college | Hunter College of the City University of New York | Boston University |
Here are the differences between family workers' and foster care workers' demographics:
| Family Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9% | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% |
| 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% |