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Youth development professional vs family service worker

The differences between youth development professionals 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 youth development professional and a family service worker. Additionally, a youth development professional has an average salary of $43,758, which is higher than the $37,674 average annual salary of a family service worker.

The top three skills for a youth development professional include youth development, direct care and productive relationships. The most important skills for a family service worker are social work, foster care, and child abuse.

Youth development professional vs family service worker overview

Youth Development ProfessionalFamily Service Worker
Yearly salary$43,758$37,674
Hourly rate$21.04$18.11
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs91,372111,599
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a youth development professional do?

Youth Development Professionals are specialists in implementing and overseeing programs to help adolescents discover their abilities and interests. They are responsible for coordinating career days and field trips, organizing mentorship sessions, create youth outreach projects, and assisting community organizations in youth provision development. Other duties include supporting the training of volunteer youth workers as well as ensuring service provided adheres to professional standards and current regulations. A Youth Development Professional may specialize in a specific development sector, such as healthy living, experiential learning, or public service.

What does a family service worker do?

A family service worker is in charge of providing support services to families in a community, referring them to other agencies or programs as needed. They serve as the primary point of contact of family members, ensuring they maintain an active line of communication. Their responsibilities typically revolve around enrolling family members into social services programs, gathering and verifying information, maintaining databases, and assisting in all procedures, all while updating families for any progress. Furthermore, a family service worker needs to coordinate with other social workers to provide the most effective service.

Youth development professional vs family service worker salary

Youth development professionals and family service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Youth Development ProfessionalFamily Service Worker
Average salary$43,758$37,674
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $95,000Between $28,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CityJersey City, NJChicago, IL
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyMUFG EMEAWashington County
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between youth development professional and family service worker education

There are a few differences between a youth development professional and a family service worker in terms of educational background:

Youth Development ProfessionalFamily Service Worker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorPsychologySocial Work
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaHunter College of the City University of New York

Youth development professional vs family service worker demographics

Here are the differences between youth development professionals' and family service workers' demographics:

Youth Development ProfessionalFamily Service Worker
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 41.0% Female, 59.0%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 youth development professional and family service worker duties and responsibilities

Youth development professional example responsibilities.

  • Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation or equivalent compliance.
  • Develop necessary reports for local, state, and federal programs pertaining to mathematics.
  • Create PowerPoint that reflects current EHS metric measurements vs. the goals of the year.
  • Develop teen prevention programs addressing violence, substance abuse and nutrition
  • Help each participant meet their establish goals and develop and practice personal leadership skills.
  • Deliver strong leadership skills to ensure an optimistic environment, and regularly deliver positive reinforcement along with a positive attitude.
  • Show more

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.

Youth development professional vs family service worker skills

Common youth development professional skills
  • Youth Development, 13%
  • Direct Care, 13%
  • Productive Relationships, 10%
  • Restraints, 9%
  • Professional Development, 9%
  • CPR, 7%
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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