What does a youth care specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025

8 min read

Quoted expert

Lesley Casarez Ph.D.

Youth care specialists are social experts who coordinate programs for children and young people who need care while being away from their own families for some reason. These specialists are required to maintain a safe environment in the community so that children will feel safe, cared for, and nurture. They must lead various seminars for youths about topics such as job readiness, financial literacy, and higher education. They must also communicate the concerns and other important information to a child's assigned social worker and provide back-up support to case managers if needed.

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Youth care specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real youth care specialist resumes:

Provide individualize intervention for problematic behaviors using TCI techniques such as de-escalation, to prevent and/or manage crisis.
Transport FEMA trailers and levele foundation using bulldozers and bobcats.
Maintain current credentials and certifications as required such as such as CPR and first aid certifications.
Provide everyday living activity for autistic individuals, pass medicine, dress patients, help with communication, and restrain patients.
Retain proper certifications for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, first aid, driver's license and insurance.

Youth care specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 18% of Youth Care Specialists are proficient in Customer Service, Patients, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Emotional stability.

We break down the percentage of Youth Care Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Customer Service, 18%
Provide quality customer service and support open communication with Accounts Payable Processors and facility Accounts Payable personnel.
Patients, 13%
Worked one on one with medical establishments and patients by verifying insurance benefits and completing prior authorizations for high end pharmaceuticals.
CPR, 6%
Certified In CPR and CPI training.
Direct Care, 6%
Provided direct care to teenage residents in a residential setting-Engaged residents in a structured program in support of treatment
Social Work, 5%
Communicate with appropriate staff, law enforcement, social worker, parents, etc.
Cleanliness, 5%
Supervised teens on maintaining cleanliness of cottage, individual rooms and their individual appearance.

Most youth care specialists use their skills in "customer service," "patients," and "cpr" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential youth care specialist responsibilities here:

Compassion. The most essential soft skill for a youth care specialist to carry out their responsibilities is compassion. This skill is important for the role because "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Additionally, a youth care specialist resume shows how their duties depend on compassion: "provided compassionate care and treatment to patients with extremely painful wounds. "

Time-management skills. Another essential skill to perform youth care specialist duties is time-management skills. Youth care specialists responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." Youth care specialists also use time-management skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "managed a diverse workload, arranged local youth programs, prioritizing and meeting deadlines. "

Communication skills. youth care specialist responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." This resume example shows what youth care specialists do with communication skills on a typical day: "provided car care services, including detailing and customer service skills computer tech and services interpersonal and communications customer service"

Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a youth care specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what youth care specialists relies on this skill, since "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." How this skill relates to youth care specialist duties can be seen in an example from a youth care specialist resume snippet: "developed keen ability to visually observe behaviors and interactions and demonstrated effective leadership, organizational and time management skills. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill commonly found on youth care specialist job descriptions is "interpersonal skills." It can come up quite often in youth care specialist duties, since "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day youth care specialist responsibilities: "assist clients with academic, personal and social growth through interpersonal, organizational and conflict resolution skills. "

All youth care specialist skills

The three companies that hire the most youth care specialists are:

The Children's Village19 youth care specialists jobs
Lutheran Services Florida11 youth care specialists jobs
Children's Home Society of Florida10 youth care specialists jobs

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Compare different youth care specialists

Youth care specialist vs. Youth worker

Youth workers specialize in handling and providing support to young individuals with behavioral difficulties. They are primarily responsible for devising recreational projects, handling the budget, producing progress reports, managing intervention programs, and counseling troubled youth while keeping their information confidential. There may be instances where one must also search for opportunities and apply for funding or sponsorship. Furthermore, as a youth worker, it is vital to assess an individual's condition to determine their needs and ensure that they will receive the proper treatment.

If we compare the average youth care specialist annual salary with that of a youth worker, we find that youth workers typically earn a $6,713 lower salary than youth care specialists make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both youth care specialist and youth worker positions are skilled in cpr, direct care, and incident reports.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between youth care specialists and youth worker. For instance, youth care specialist responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "patients," "excellent time management," and "minor maintenance." Whereas a youth worker is skilled in "crisis intervention," "youth development," "child care," and "support services." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Youth workers earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $32,651. On the other hand, youth care specialists are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $39,391.On average, youth workers reach similar levels of education than youth care specialists. Youth workers are 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Youth care specialist vs. Rehabilitation specialist

Rehabilitation specialists are professionals who are responsible for helping individuals with physical and mental disabilities to reintegrate into society and live independently. These specialists must assist their clients in finding the type of work they could do with their disability and prepare them for their interview. They are required to provide a basic explanation about the medical or mental health condition to their clients. Rehabilitation specialists must also collaborate with other professionals to assist with rehabilitation exercises.

On average, rehabilitation specialists earn a $3,979 higher salary than youth care specialists a year.A few skills overlap for youth care specialists and rehabilitation specialists. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "patients," "cpr," and "direct care. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real youth care specialist resumes. While youth care specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "excellent time management," "minor maintenance," and "strong customer service," rehabilitation specialists use skills like "rehabilitation," "crisis intervention," "excellent interpersonal," and "behavior management."

Rehabilitation specialists earn a higher average salary than youth care specialists. But rehabilitation specialists earn the highest pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $47,971. Additionally, youth care specialists earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $39,391 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Rehabilitation specialists tend to reach higher levels of education than youth care specialists. In fact, they're 7.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for youth care specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Lesley Casarez Ph.D.

Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University

Graduates will need to learn to use technology in which virtual platforms are taking place and web conferencing platforms. Numerous platforms are being used, so the particular platform itself is not as crucial as being well-versed in how virtual education differs from face-to-face environments. Typically, the instructional role in online learning is more of a facilitator, as the educator guides the students to think critically, integrate, and apply new knowledge. This may be difficult for educators who would rather stand in front of a classroom and pass on their knowledge through lecture-based formats. Additionally, being well-versed in various web conferencing platforms will benefit graduates, as they move into a career that is currently requiring communication in virtual environments.

Youth care specialist vs. Habilitation specialist

Typically working for clinics and learning institutions, a behavioral health specialist is in charge of counseling and treating patients with behavioral issues. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial assessment through interview and observation, maintaining records and data, developing treatment plans, and referring patients to other support services when necessary. Moreover, a behavioral health specialist must communicate with the patient's families or guardians, discuss conditions, and provide advice on taking care of them. Aside from treating patients, it is also essential to continuously monitor their behavior while building positive relationships with them.

On average scale, habilitation specialists bring in lower salaries than youth care specialists. In fact, they earn a $4,358 lower salary per year.By looking over several youth care specialists and habilitation specialists resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "cpr," "incident reports," and "independent living." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a youth care specialist is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "patients," "excellent time management," and "minor maintenance," while a typical habilitation specialist is skilled in "intellectual disabilities," "community integration," "opwdd," and "habilitation services."

Habilitation specialists earn the best pay in the non profits industry, where they command an average salary of $33,867. Youth care specialists earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $39,391.habilitation specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to youth care specialists. Specifically, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Learn more about youth care specialists vs behavioral health specialists.

Youth care specialist vs. Behavioral health specialist

Behavioral health specialists typically earn higher pay than youth care specialists. On average, behavioral health specialists earn a $5,853 higher salary per year.While both youth care specialists and behavioral health specialists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, cpr, and direct care, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between youth care specialists and behavioral health specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a youth care specialist might have more use for skills like "customer service," "excellent time management," "minor maintenance," and "strong customer service." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of behavioral health specialists require skills like "rehabilitation," "mental illness," "behavioral health," and "support services. "

In general, behavioral health specialists earn the most working in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $53,632. The highest-paying industry for a youth care specialist is the government industry.The average resume of behavioral health specialists showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to youth care specialists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 15.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.1%.

Types of youth care specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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