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Welfare investigator vs family service worker

The differences between welfare investigators and family service 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 welfare investigator and a family service worker. Additionally, a welfare investigator has an average salary of $55,239, which is higher than the $37,674 average annual salary of a family service worker.

The top three skills for a welfare investigator include law enforcement, child protective and court system. The most important skills for a family service worker are social work, foster care, and child abuse.

Welfare investigator vs family service worker overview

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Service Worker
Yearly salary$55,239$37,674
Hourly rate$26.56$18.11
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs4,828111,599
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

Welfare investigator vs family service worker salary

Welfare investigators and family service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Service Worker
Average salary$55,239$37,674
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $67,000Between $28,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City-Chicago, IL
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-Washington County
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between welfare investigator and family service worker education

There are a few differences between a welfare investigator and a family service worker in terms of educational background:

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Service Worker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorCriminal JusticeSocial Work
Most common collegeHunter College of the City University of New YorkHunter College of the City University of New York

Welfare investigator vs family service worker demographics

Here are the differences between welfare investigators' and family service workers' demographics:

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Service Worker
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 36.8% Female, 63.2%Male, 14.8% Female, 85.2%
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 welfare investigator and family service worker duties and responsibilities

Welfare investigator example responsibilities.

  • Monitor suspicious individuals by utilizing CCTV surveillance and floor surveillance.
  • Perform related adoptions and supervisory visits for state adoptions.

Family service worker example responsibilities.

  • Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
  • Practice motivational interviewing techniques to assist individuals in identifying personal hurdles in order to set goals and work towards rehabilitation.
  • Establish and maintain relationships with stakeholder (DSS staff, schools and community partners).
  • Integrate the individual support plan (ISP) objective into the individuals' daily schedule.
  • Provide courtesy interviews or conflict investigations for other county DSS.
  • Determine participants' eligibility for program by gathering data and maintaining information to ensure clients are compliant for TANF program regulations.

Welfare investigator vs family service worker skills

Common welfare investigator skills
  • Law Enforcement, 65%
  • Child Protective, 11%
  • Court System, 6%
  • Community Resources, 5%
  • Conduct Investigations, 5%
  • Court Hearings, 4%
Common family service worker skills
  • Social Work, 18%
  • Foster Care, 10%
  • Child Abuse, 9%
  • Protective Services, 5%
  • Mental Health, 5%
  • Court Reports, 4%

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