Group home counselor vs direct care counselor

The differences between group home counselors and direct care counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a group home counselor has an average salary of $38,203, which is higher than the $33,422 average annual salary of a direct care counselor.

The top three skills for a group home counselor include developmental disabilities, behavioral problems and community integration. The most important skills for a direct care counselor are crisis intervention, autism, and CPR.

Group home counselor vs direct care counselor overview

	Group Home Counselor	Direct Care Counselor
Yearly salary	$38,203	$33,422
Hourly rate	$18.37	$16.07
Growth rate	-	36%
Number of jobs	79,344	123,519
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	41	48
Years of experience	4	-

Group home counselor vs direct care counselor salary

Group home counselors and direct care counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Group Home Counselor	Direct Care Counselor
Average salary	$38,203	$33,422
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $48,000	Between $22,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between group home counselor and direct care counselor education

There are a few differences between a group home counselor and a direct care counselor in terms of educational background:

	Group Home Counselor	Direct Care Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	-

Group home counselor vs direct care counselor demographics

Here are the differences between group home counselors' and direct care counselors' demographics:

	Group Home Counselor	Direct Care Counselor
Average age	41	48
Gender ratio	Male, 38.1% Female, 61.9%	Male, 31.5% Female, 68.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 8.3% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	15%	7%

Differences between group home counselor and direct care counselor duties and responsibilities

Group home counselor example responsibilities.

Engage, educate and empower participants to access community base resources in order to achieve greater self-determination, rehabilitation and recovery.
Provide mentally impair or emotionally disturb patients with routine emotional and psychological care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
Promote continuity of care by accurately and completely communicating to other caregivers the status of patients for which care is provided.
Maintain therapeutic relationships with youth through effective teaching and coaching techniques to provide leadership and foster relationship building skills.

Direct care counselor example responsibilities.

Obtain SCIP-R, CPR, and AMAP certifications.
Provide training to residents in improving ADL and independent living skills per the IHP and any/all relate behavior or medical requirements.
Obtain AMAP certification and administer medications under the supervision of assign nursing staff.
Provide direct care assistance for campers with autism, intellectual disabilities, and/or developmental delays.
Perform one-on-one supervision of children with disabilities including autism, complex mental health problems, and complex behavioral problems.
Help develop and carry-out treatment goals for individual clients as outlined in treatment plans and/or ISP goals and objectives.

Group home counselor vs direct care counselor skills

Common group home counselor skills

Developmental Disabilities, 14%
Behavioral Problems, 8%
Community Integration, 8%
Direct Care, 6%
Medication Administration, 5%
Medical Appointments, 5%

Common direct care counselor skills

Crisis Intervention, 12%
Autism, 11%
CPR, 10%
Developmental Disabilities, 10%
Incident Reports, 9%
Data Collection, 8%

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Group Home Counselor
Group Home Counselor vs Direct Care Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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