How to hire a group home worker

How to hire a group home worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step group home worker hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a group home worker job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new group home worker
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a group home worker do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your group home worker job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a group home worker for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect group home worker also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of group home worker salaries for various roles:

   Type of Group Home Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Group Home Worker	Home health aides help people with disabilities, chronic illness, or cognitive impairment with activities of daily living. They often help older adults who need assistance... Show more	$13-25
   Residential Aide	A residential aide is responsible for assisting residents and patients in a community facility, supporting them in their daily activities and personal routines. Residential aides monitor the patients' health conditions, coordinate with medical professionals, and ensure that they receive the proper medications... Show more	$9-15
   Health Aide	A health aide is responsible for providing care and assistance to patients in medical facilities, care centers, and even at home. They typically help patients by administering medicines, monitoring their blood pressure and vital signs, facilitating exercises, preparing meals, providing emotional support, and assisting them in performing hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, and going to the toilet... Show more	$11-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Data Entry
   • Meal Prep
   • CPR
   • Independent Living
   • Laundry Services
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Meal Planning
   • Patient Care
   • Medication Management
   • Vital Signs
   • ADL
   • Medical Appointments

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide companionship, socialization and emotional support.
   • Provide transportation to medical appointments and transfer patients in and out of wheelchairs
   • Experience working with the elderly, Alzheimer's or dementia patients.
   • Maintain the living areas by cleaning, doing laundry, and shopping for groceries.
   • Plan meals, shopping for groceries, preparing and serving food/meals, feeding, and clean-up.
   • Assist and redirect clients with ADL skills, transport clients to daily activities, and focuse on documentation.

   More group home worker duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your group home worker job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A group home worker can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, group home workers' average salary in alabama is 39% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level group home workers 46% less than senior-level group home workers.
   • Certifications. A group home worker with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a group home worker's salary.

   Average group home worker salary

   $40,224yearly

   $19.34 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level group home worker salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average group home worker salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Alaska	$51,697	$25
   2	New York	$49,054	$24
   3	District of Columbia	$48,557	$23
   4	Maryland	$48,112	$23
   5	Nevada	$48,023	$23
   6	Massachusetts	$47,952	$23
   7	Rhode Island	$47,933	$23
   8	Washington	$46,640	$22
   9	Maine	$45,437	$22
   10	California	$45,247	$22
   11	North Dakota	$45,244	$22
   12	Oregon	$45,235	$22
   13	Wisconsin	$45,203	$22
   14	Vermont	$44,465	$21
   15	Idaho	$44,242	$21
   16	Arizona	$44,223	$21
   17	Michigan	$44,204	$21
   18	New Hampshire	$43,316	$21
   19	Montana	$43,194	$21
   20	Virginia	$43,140	$21

   Average group home worker salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Texas	$49,208	$23.66	115
   2	State of West Virginia	$44,925	$21.60	100
   3	Erickson Senior Living	$42,193	$20.29	24
   4	Alliance Data	$41,265	$19.84
   5	The Shelter	$39,861	$19.16
   6	Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth	$39,092	$18.79
   7	Freedom at Home Team	$38,896	$18.70
   8	ECS	$38,882	$18.69
   9	InfoCision	$38,399	$18.46
   10	Randstad North America, Inc.	$37,455	$18.01
   11	Kelly Services	$37,072	$17.82	29
   12	ManpowerGroup	$36,674	$17.63	24
   13	Aerotek	$36,206	$17.41	158
   14	CRST International	$35,815	$17.22	1
   15	Comcast	$34,905	$16.78	2
   16	FHI 360	$34,398	$16.54	1
   17	The Salvation Army	$33,551	$16.13	182
   18	Global Payments	$33,084	$15.91
   19	Chrysalis	$32,557	$15.65	51
   20	Parkview Health	$31,895	$15.33

4. Writing a group home worker job description

   A job description for a group home worker role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a group home worker job description:

   Group home worker job description example

   • Must be at least 21 years of age in accordance with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Licensing Standards for Group Homes.
   • Two years/60 hours of college credit from an accredited school required. Degree in human services field desired.
   • Must meet Child Care Facility Driver requirements in accordance with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
   • Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of Shelter's mission, vision, and values.
   • Must have a valid Illinois driver's license, automobile, and must submit proof of Illinois auto insurance.
   • Must complete a medical and T.B. test. Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the latest CDC guidelines.
   • Must be fingerprinted by the State of Illinois and must submit to a full background check through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
   • Must submit official educational transcripts from the last school in which a degree was awarded.
   • Must become certified in CPR and First Aid and complete New Hire Orientation before working independently.
   • Ability to lift 40 lbs.

   WORK ENVIRONMENT

   Shelter, Inc. is committed to providing safe, inclusive, and supportive resources for youth and families from all backgrounds and identities. We actively strive to create an environment that supports all employees, placing value in contributions from people from diverse backgrounds, and honoring all experiences, perspectives, and unique identities.

   ABOUT SHELTER Since 1975, Shelter has been a leader in Chicagoland for providing the emotional and physical care, programs, and services that children need to build safer, healthier, and brighter futures. We are the only agency in the state of Illinois to provide fully comprehensive and community-based services for children and families at risk and in need. Our programs include emergency housing, transitional living, foster care, home visiting, and clinical support services. We are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

   Shelter is committed to providing safe, inclusive, and supportive resources for youth and families from all backgrounds and identities.

   COVID-19 considerations:

   COVID-19 vaccination per current CDC guidelines is required. The agency follows the recommendations of DCFS and CDC regarding COVID-19 precautions.

   Company DescriptionOur vision is that every child will grow up in a safe and loving home. Our mission is to end the cycle of child abuse by providing a comprehensive network of support to children, their families and our community to create safe, healthy and nurturing homes. Shelter, Inc.’s programs include: Emergency group homes for youth 11-17 years old; Foster Care; Healthy Families (parent education and home visitation); Transitional Living (for older adolescents to learn and develop independent living skills); Youth Experiencing Homelessness case management; 24 hour information and referral service; and Community Education.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right group home worker for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with group home workers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit group home workers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your group home worker job on Zippia to find and recruit group home worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting group home workers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new group home worker

   Once you've decided on a perfect group home worker candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new group home worker. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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