Welfare investigator vs foster care worker

The differences between welfare investigators and foster care 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 foster care worker. Additionally, a welfare investigator has an average salary of $55,239, which is higher than the $46,037 average annual salary of a foster care worker.

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

Welfare investigator vs foster care worker overview

	Welfare Investigator	Foster Care Worker
Yearly salary	$55,239	$46,037
Hourly rate	$26.56	$22.13
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	4,828	151,625
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Welfare investigator vs foster care worker salary

Welfare investigators and foster care workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Welfare Investigator	Foster Care Worker
Average salary	$55,239	$46,037
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $67,000	Between $32,000 And $65,000
Highest paying City	-	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Riverview Health
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between welfare investigator and foster care worker education

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

	Welfare Investigator	Foster Care Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Social Work
Most common college	Hunter College of the City University of New York	Boston University

Welfare investigator vs foster care worker demographics

Here are the differences between welfare investigators' and foster care workers' demographics:

	Welfare Investigator	Foster Care Worker
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 36.8% Female, 63.2%	Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9%
Race ratio	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%	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 Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between welfare investigator and foster care 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.

Foster care worker example responsibilities.

Conduct unscheduled regular school visits to attain records of attendance, suspensions, IEP, and treatment plans.
Manage to write progress note, complete FASP's and input information on PROMIS on a timely manner.
Manage caseload of 18 23 children and adolescents in DSS custody due to abuse, neglect and criminal activity.
Manage a caseload of families with children in DSS custody awaiting return home to family of origin base upon progress make.
Lead presentation and training sessions to community and inter-agency groups.
Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.

Welfare investigator vs foster care 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 foster care worker skills

Foster Care, 26%
Social Work, 19%
Child Abuse, 7%
Social Services, 6%
Foster Children, 5%
Community Resources, 4%

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Community and Social Services Industry
Welfare Investigator
Welfare Investigator vs Foster Care Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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