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Welfare investigator vs family support specialist

The differences between welfare investigators and family support specialists 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 support specialist. Additionally, a welfare investigator has an average salary of $55,239, which is higher than the $37,343 average annual salary of a family support specialist.

The top three skills for a welfare investigator include law enforcement, child protective and court system. The most important skills for a family support specialist are social work, child abuse, and patients.

Welfare investigator vs family support specialist overview

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Support Specialist
Yearly salary$55,239$37,343
Hourly rate$26.56$17.95
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs4,828143,739
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

Welfare investigator vs family support specialist salary

Welfare investigators and family support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Support Specialist
Average salary$55,239$37,343
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $67,000Between $24,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City-Trenton, NJ
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-Catholic Health East
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between welfare investigator and family support specialist education

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

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Support Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorCriminal JusticePsychology
Most common collegeHunter College of the City University of New YorkHunter College of the City University of New York

Welfare investigator vs family support specialist demographics

Here are the differences between welfare investigators' and family support specialists' demographics:

Welfare InvestigatorFamily Support Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 36.8% Female, 63.2%Male, 14.0% Female, 86.0%
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 support specialist 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 support specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage RSP curriculum for wide spectrum of needs including LD and autism.
  • Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
  • Provide first aid or CPR.
  • Provide intensive services to families that are DHS who are determine to be reunify with their families.
  • Attend and participate in weekly staff meetings, individual supervision, and other meetings require by DCF.
  • Provide activities supervision and individual counseling to DCFS wards of the state within a therapeutic milieu setting.
  • Show more

Welfare investigator vs family support specialist 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 support specialist skills
  • Social Work, 23%
  • Child Abuse, 9%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Child Development, 4%
  • Crisis Intervention, 4%
  • Foster Care, 4%

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