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How to hire a youth services specialist

Youth services specialist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring youth services specialists in the United States:

  • There are a total of 77,079 youth services specialists in the US, and there are currently 102,939 job openings in this field.
  • The median cost to hire a youth services specialist is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per youth services specialist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Houston, TX, has the highest demand for youth services specialists, with 4 job openings.

How to hire a youth services specialist, step by step

To hire a youth services specialist, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire a youth services specialist:

Here's a step-by-step youth services specialist hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a youth services specialist job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new youth services specialist
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a youth services specialist do?

A youth services specialist works to provide emotional and mental support to young individuals under stress or difficult situations. Although their responsibilities may differ upon their organization of employment, it usually includes conducting assessments and interviews, coordinating with families or guardians, handling various programs and projects, and referring clients to other services and specialists when necessary. Moreover, a youth services specialist must protect sensitive information regarding the client, all while helping them feel comfortable every step of the way.

Learn more about the specifics of what a youth services specialist does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    The youth services specialist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    A youth services specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, youth services specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    Here's a comparison of youth services specialist salaries for various roles:

    Type of Youth Services SpecialistDescriptionHourly rate
    Youth Services SpecialistSocial and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.$13-24
    Youth CounselorA Youth Counselor's role is to provide guidance and interact with children or teenagers in need of care and counseling. The duty of a Youth Counselor is diverse, and it highly depends on the organization or employer... Show more$12-23
    Youth WorkerYouth 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... Show more$12-19
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Social Work
    • Role Model
    • Mental Health
    • Crisis Intervention
    • Incident Reports
    • Criminal Justice
    • Direct Care
    • Community Resources
    • at-Risk Youth
    • CPR
    • Child Care
    • Direct Supervision
    • Crisis Situations
    • Restraints
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation or equivalent compliance.
    • 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.
    More youth services specialist duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your youth services specialist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A youth services specialist salary can vary based on several factors:
    • Location. For example, youth services specialists' average salary in utah is 49% less than in district of columbia.
    • Seniority. Entry-level youth services specialists earn 45% less than senior-level youth services specialists.
    • Certifications. A youth services specialist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a youth services specialist's salary.

    Average youth services specialist salary

    $38,160yearly

    $18.35 hourly rate

    Entry-level youth services specialist salary
    $28,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 17, 2025

    Average youth services specialist salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$42,649$21
    2Virginia$38,468$18
    3New York$37,667$18
    4Maryland$37,229$18
    5Florida$37,155$18
    6Washington$36,823$18
    7Texas$36,092$17
    8Colorado$35,962$17
    9New Jersey$33,591$16
    10Arizona$33,268$16
    11Oregon$32,006$15
    12Ohio$31,599$15
    13Oklahoma$28,804$14
    14Missouri$28,046$13
    15Michigan$25,838$12
    16Utah$24,361$12

    Average youth services specialist salary by company

  4. Writing a youth services specialist job description

    A youth services specialist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a youth services specialist job description:

    Youth services specialist job description example

    THIS POSITION IS ELIGIBLE FOR A $2,500.00 SIGN-ON BONUS FOR 1 YEAR OF SERVICE

    **COVID-19 Vaccine required

    Our Company: Community Mental Health Center, Inc. is a provider of comprehensive mental health services, offering inpatient, outpatient, home-based, school, and community-based programs to individuals and families in Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland counties in Southeastern Indiana. CMHC offers a full continuum of care to individuals and families of all ages. CMHC follows the recovery model which emphasizes and supports each individual's potential for recovery. Recovery is seen as a personal journey that utilizes supportive relationships, empowerment, social inclusion, and coping skills.

    Position Responsibilities: The Wraparound Facilitator is responsible for assessing the appropriateness of the referral to the program; to engage a youth and family in the wraparound process; to engage, develop, and prepare a team; to create a crisis plan and stabilize crises; to explore strengths, needs, culture, and vision with the family; to establish an integrated care plan that is determined by the child and family driven by underlying needs that have been prioritized by the team, and grounded in a strength’s perspective; monitor progress toward those goals and objectives established; ensure the team effectiveness by collaborating with team members to stay on track with the assigned action steps and by inspiring them to work as a cohesive group toward the family vision; to create a transition plan including post-transition crisis management; and to celebrate successes.

    Qualifications: Bachelor Degree in social work, counseling or related field; a minimum of three years of experience, excellent organizational, and communication skills, commitment to wraparound principles (Family voice and choice, Strength-Based, Individualized, Outcome Based, Team Based, Culturally Competent, Community Based, Unconditional Care, Collaboration, and Natural Supports).

    Day-to-Day Expectations:

    • Consultation and collaboration with community systems to facilitate linkage-referral, and advocacy ensuring caregivers and youth have access to the services and resources needed to reach goals and objectives supporting the family vision.
    • Teach youth and families the skills needed to facilitate their family team toward reaching their vision.
    • Teach youth and families how to identify underlying needs and mitigating strengths to facilitate the development of an individualized plan that supports the family vision.
    • Monitor progress toward meeting established goals, and adherence to action plans.
    • Assists in the development of natural supports and non-traditional community resources needed for youth and their families to reach their vision.

    Why You Should Apply?

    • Excellent Health Benefits
    • Profit Sharing Plan (401k)
    • Tuition Reimbursement
    • PTO Plan
    • Paid Holidays (8 days)
    • Flexible Scheduling
    • Work/Life Balance
    • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

    Powered by JazzHR

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  5. Post your job

    To find youth services specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any youth services specialists they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level youth services specialists with the right educational background.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your youth services specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit youth services specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit youth services specialists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

    You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new youth services specialist

    Once you've selected the best youth services specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a youth services specialist?

Recruiting youth services specialists involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $38,160 per year for a youth services specialist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for youth services specialists in the US typically range between $13 and $24 an hour.

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