Intervention specialist vs clinical social worker

The differences between intervention specialists and clinical social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an intervention specialist, becoming a clinical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinical social worker has an average salary of $63,056, which is higher than the $50,180 average annual salary of an intervention specialist.

The top three skills for an intervention specialist include mental health, social work and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a clinical social worker are social work, patients, and behavioral health.

Intervention specialist vs clinical social worker overview

	Intervention Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$50,180	$63,056
Hourly rate	$24.12	$30.32
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	69,156	124,816
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	2

What does an intervention specialist do?

An intervention specialist is responsible for assisting children with special education and social adjustment needs in schools and other educational settings. You will be responsible for designing, executing, and assessing programs based on different factors, including gender, cultural background, and age. Other tasks that you will likely perform include working closely with teachers to discuss the subject matter with students, ensuring children and occupied and safe, and maintaining records of children's performance and lesson plans. An intervention specialist is also responsible for adhering to individualized education programs.

What does a clinical social worker do?

A clinical social worker is an individual in social work, which provides help to individuals in need of improving their lives and their well-being. Clinical social workers must work with different individuals to help them address difficulties that they are trying to overcome. To perform counseling services, clinical social workers must take and pass the professional licensure examination. They also help disadvantaged individuals connect to resources and services that they may benefit from.

Intervention specialist vs clinical social worker salary

Intervention specialists and clinical social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Intervention Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$50,180	$63,056
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $70,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Alameda, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Birch	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Government	Education

Differences between intervention specialist and clinical social worker education

There are a few differences between an intervention specialist and a clinical social worker in terms of educational background:

	Intervention Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of Pennsylvania

Intervention specialist vs clinical social worker demographics

Here are the differences between intervention specialists' and clinical social workers' demographics:

	Intervention Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 30.4% Female, 69.6%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	13%

Differences between intervention specialist and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Intervention specialist example responsibilities.

Conduct mental health triage; make appropriate dispositions to other inpatient units with the local area.
Coordinate with parents, general education teachers, service providers in all aspects of the IEP and ETR annual review process.
Assist families with children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Track students' GPA, college and career goals.
Supervise employees and train for EIS certification through DARS and state of Texas.
Perform crisis phone triage, mobile face to face assessments and arrange for respite services.

Clinical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
Provide clinical services to patients in rehabilitation and oncology including assessment, crisis intervention, grief therapy, and discharge planning.
Provide individual, group, family therapy, team coordination, discharge planning, utilization review and MSW student supervision.
Participate in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings to determine Medicare length of skil nursing stay.
Facilitate therapy, symptom management, and rehabilitation groups for mental health clients in partial hospitalization setting.

Intervention specialist vs clinical social worker skills

Common intervention specialist skills

Mental Health, 13%
Social Work, 9%
Crisis Intervention, 6%
Classroom Management, 5%
Group Sessions, 5%
IEP, 4%

Common clinical social worker skills

Social Work, 28%
Patients, 17%
Behavioral Health, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
Community Resources, 4%
MSW, 3%

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Intervention Specialist
Intervention Specialist vs Clinical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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