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What does a youth services specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
9 min read
Quoted expert
Yan Ciupak Ph.D.

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.

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Youth services specialist responsibilities

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

  • 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.

Youth services specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 12% of Youth Services Specialists are proficient in Social Work, Role Model, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Interpersonal skills.

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

  • Social Work, 12%

    License: Licensed Certified Social Worker, MS license C6848, reinstatement pending until completion of current background check.

  • Role Model, 12%

    Provide leadership to residents by means of positive role modeling as well as utilization of all possible teaching moments.

  • Mental Health, 11%

    Develop individualized programs for youth experiencing mental health or behavioral difficulties.

  • Crisis Intervention, 8%

    Utilized crisis intervention and counseling techniques to deescalate volatile situations and restore calm.

  • Incident Reports, 8%

    Determine and assess youth progress within the program and documents using incident reports.

  • Criminal Justice, 5%

    Worked mutually with local criminal justice system to implement sentence alternatives and sanctions.

Common skills that a youth services specialist uses to do their job include "social work," "role model," and "mental health." You can find details on the most important youth services specialist responsibilities below.

Compassion. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a youth services specialist to have is compassion. Their role and responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Youth services specialists often use compassion in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "exhibited patience, care, and compassion towards others. "

Time-management skills. Many youth services specialist duties rely on time-management skills. "social and human service assistants often work with many clients," so a youth services specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways youth services specialist responsibilities rely on time-management skills: "work independently and with a team of psychologists, social workers and teachers to make deadlines in a timely manner. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of youth services specialists is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday youth services specialist duties, as "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "supported, coached and trained the youth on age appropriate behaviors; interpersonal communications; problem solving and conflict resolution. "

Problem-solving skills. For certain youth services specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a youth services specialist rely on this skill, as "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what youth services specialists do: "planned and led financial literacy & conflict resolution workshops for a group of up to twenty-two participants. "

Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a youth services specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what youth services specialists relies on this skill, since "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." How this skill relates to youth services specialist duties can be seen in an example from a youth services specialist resume snippet: "initiated crisis intervention by following official crisis communication plans and training. "

Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a youth services specialist does. Youth services specialist responsibilities require this skill because "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." This resume example highlights how youth services specialist duties rely on this skill: "ensured a safe, healthy environment which reflects organizational principles. "

All youth services specialist skills

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

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Compare different youth services specialists

Youth services specialist vs. Youth counselor

A 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. However, the responsibilities mostly revolve around establishing rapport with the youngster while trying to work on their issues, ensuring their welfare by monitoring their emotional and physical state, coordinating with families or other facilities, suggesting treatments, and performing crisis intervention if necessary.

If we compare the average youth services specialist annual salary with that of a youth counselor, we find that youth counselors typically earn a $1,406 lower salary than youth services specialists make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between youth services specialists and youth counselors are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like social work, role model, and mental health.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between youth services specialists and youth counselor. For instance, youth services specialist responsibilities require skills such as "first hand," "criminal justice," "child care," and "restraints." Whereas a youth counselor is skilled in "necessary paperwork," "emergency first aid," "cpi," and "behavior management." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Youth counselors earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $38,048. On the other hand, youth services specialists are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $51,318.The education levels that youth counselors earn slightly differ from youth services specialists. In particular, youth counselors are 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a youth services specialist. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Youth services 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.

A career as a youth worker brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a youth services specialist. In fact, youth workers salary is $5,918 lower than the salary of youth services specialists per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Youth services specialists and youth workers both require similar skills like "role model," "mental health," and "crisis intervention" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, youth services specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "social work," "first hand," "criminal justice," and "restraints." Meanwhile, a youth worker has duties that require skills in areas such as "youth development," "support services," "youth program," and "community services." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Youth workers may earn a lower salary than youth services specialists, but youth workers earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $32,651. On the other hand, youth services specialists receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $51,318.In general, youth workers achieve similar levels of education than youth services specialists. They're 4.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

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

Yan Ciupak Ph.D.Yan Ciupak Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor, Northern Michigan University

As in many other fields, high-level computer skills are becoming more and more crucial to work effectively. Sociology students have the advantage of gaining high-level computer skills since sociology is so data- and research-driven. Sociologists use the internet, software, and other computer skills to assist data collection and analysis, communications, and problem-solving.

Youth services specialist vs. Student support services

The one who shows the track of academic pursuit is student support service. Equipped with a wide range of knowledge themselves, such people provide auxiliary aids and services to the aspirants. They select appropriate and effective accommodations and provide counseling to the students.

On average scale, student support services bring in higher salaries than youth services specialists. In fact, they earn a $2,035 higher salary per year.youth services specialists and student support services both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "community resources," "financial literacy," and "mathematics," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from youth services specialist resumes include skills like "social work," "role model," "mental health," and "crisis intervention," whereas a student support services is more likely to list skills in "student support," "support services," "financial aid," and "academic support. "

Student support services earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $38,009. Comparatively, youth services specialists have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $51,318.student support services typically earn similar educational levels compared to youth services specialists. Specifically, they're 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Youth services specialist vs. Habilitation specialist

Habilitation specialists average a lower salary than the annual salary of youth services specialists. The difference is about $3,563 per year.While both youth services specialists and habilitation specialists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like incident reports, community resources, and cpr, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between youth services specialists and habilitation specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a youth services specialist might have more use for skills like "social work," "role model," "mental health," and "crisis intervention." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of habilitation specialists require skills like "developmental disabilities," "intellectual disabilities," "community integration," and "opwdd. "

Habilitation specialists enjoy the best pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $33,867. For comparison, youth services specialists earn the highest salary in the technology industry.In general, habilitation specialists hold similar degree levels compared to youth services specialists. Habilitation specialists are 2.7% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of youth services specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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