How to find a job with Direct Care skills

What is Direct Care?

Direct care is the act of identifying people with special needs and offering the necessary care for them.

How is Direct Care used?

Zippia reviewed thousands of resumes to understand how direct care is used in different jobs. Explore the list of common job responsibilities related to direct care below:

  • Direct care/supervision of mentally handicapped adults in day treatment facility Assist in crisis intervention and implementation of education and behavior plans
  • Direct Care Provider- Providing care to adults with developmental disabilities.
  • Direct Care ProviderProvided personal care for people with disabilities.
  • Direct care and supervision of individuals with developmental disabilities.
  • Provide direct care to sever developmentally disabled individuals.
  • Provide direct care to individuals with special needs through arts, community outings and implementing individual behavior and treatment plans.

Are Direct Care skills in demand?

Yes, direct care skills are in demand today. Currently, 14,915 job openings list direct care skills as a requirement. The job descriptions that most frequently include direct care skills are direct service provider, direct care worker, and child life therapist.

How hard is it to learn Direct Care?

Based on the average complexity level of the jobs that use direct care the most: direct service provider, direct care worker, and child life therapist. The complexity level of these jobs is advanced.

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What jobs can you get with Direct Care skills?

You can get a job as a direct service provider, direct care worker, and child life therapist with direct care skills. After analyzing resumes and job postings, we identified these as the most common job titles for candidates with direct care skills.

Direct Service Provider

  • Direct Care
  • Mental Illness
  • Intellectual Disabilities
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Direct Services
  • CPR

Direct Care Worker

Job description:

A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule. Furthermore, it is also the duty of a Direct Care Worker to empathize and build rapport with clients to make them feel more at ease.

  • Direct Care
  • Patients
  • CPR
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Vital Signs

Child Life Therapist

  • Patients
  • Direct Care
  • Social Work
  • Physical Therapy
  • Therapeutic Recreation
  • Emotional Support

Recreation Counselor

  • Direct Care
  • General Supervision
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Intellectual Disabilities
  • Children AGE

Personal Attendant

  • Direct Care
  • CPR
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Adaptive
  • Autism
  • Companionship

Day Care Director

  • Patients
  • Direct Care
  • CPR
  • Quality Care
  • Social Work
  • Kids

Residential Assistant

Job description:

A residential assistant is in charge of overseeing the living conditions of students in a university or similar establishment. They are primarily responsible for assisting students and making them feel at ease within the dormitory or campus community. Moreover, a residential assistant must respond to inquiries and concerns, handle and settle any issues or problems, take part in organizing activities that are beneficial to the students, and keep them informed on all community-related updates. Furthermore, it is crucial to adhere to and implement the campus rules and regulations at all times, maintaining a safe environment for everyone.

  • Direct Care
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Mental Health
  • Meal Preparation
  • Patients
  • Household Chores

Developmental Technician

  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Direct Care
  • Autism
  • Food Preparation
  • Behavioral Training
  • Mental Health

Youth Development Professional

Job description:

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.

  • Youth Development
  • Direct Care
  • Productive Relationships
  • Restraints
  • Professional Development
  • CPR

Direct Support Staff

Job description:

The direct support staff is an individual who takes responsibility for the overall care of people with developmental disabilities. Direct support professionals work directly with developmental illness patients in long-term health care facilities. They perform their jobs as home health and companion care providers who assist their clients in their daily movements and actions. It is their duty to ensure the comfort and safety of their clients. Also, they encourage behaviors and attitudes which strengthen community inclusion.

  • Direct Support
  • Direct Care
  • Transport Clients
  • Good Judgment
  • Home Maintenance
  • Ongoing Support

Animal Shelter Worker

  • Crisis Intervention
  • Mental Health
  • Direct Care
  • Emergency Shelter
  • Client Intake
  • Community Resources

Direct Service Professional

  • Direct Care
  • CPR
  • Mental Health
  • Development Disabilities
  • Direct Support
  • DSP

Residential Instructor

  • Direct Care
  • Autism
  • Data Collection
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Direct Supervision
  • Community Integration

Securities Counselor

Job description:

A security counselor is a human service worker working in a rehabilitation center or group home to protect the clients and the public from any harm. They handle issues with discipline and ensure action is taken to prevent any incidents. They also write incident reports in case of a disciplinary issue with the clients.

  • CPR
  • Direct Care
  • Securities
  • Patrol
  • Therapeutic Interventions
  • Therapeutic Environment

Residential Program Worker

  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Patients
  • Motor Vehicle
  • Mental Health
  • Direct Care
  • Adaptive

Residential Counselor

Job description:

A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences. A residential counselor must have excellent communication and decision-making skills to ensure the development of residents in a living facility.

  • Direct Care
  • Medication Administration
  • Mental Health
  • Social Work
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Mental Illness

House Parent

  • Crisis Intervention
  • Foster Care
  • Direct Care
  • CPR
  • Child Care
  • Foster Children

Psychiatric Attendant

  • Patients
  • CPR
  • Behavioral Issues
  • Direct Care
  • Incident Reports
  • Vital Signs

Youth Specialist

Job description:

A youth specialist's role is to oversee the safety and welfare of children and young adults, ensuring that they get the necessary support and guidance. Their responsibilities include performing initial assessments and interviews to identify needs, conducting home inspections and evaluations, providing essential advice, and spearheading programs and projects that cater to the disadvantaged youth. Furthermore, there are instances when a youth specialist may execute interventions or refer families to other services. Should there be any signs of neglect or abuse, it is essential to coordinate with the authorities right away.

  • Crisis Intervention
  • Direct Care
  • Mental Health
  • Quality Care
  • Restraints
  • Social Work

Youth Counselor

Job description:

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.

  • Direct Care
  • Mental Health
  • Crisis Intervention
  • CPR
  • Social Work
  • Necessary Paperwork

How much can you earn with Direct Care skills?

You can earn up to $28,496 a year with direct care skills if you become a direct service provider, the highest-paying job that requires direct care skills. Direct care workers can earn the second-highest salary among jobs that use Python, $29,343 a year.

Job Title
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Direct Service Provider$28,496$14
Direct Care Worker$29,343$14
Child Life Therapist$50,768$24
Recreation Counselor$24,196$12
Personal Attendant$27,243$13

Companies using Direct Care in 2025

The top companies that look for employees with direct care skills are Sevita, Res-Care Premier, and Merakey. In the millions of job postings we reviewed, these companies mention direct care skills most frequently.

Departments using Direct Care

The departments that use direct care the most are healthcare, non profit/government, and education.

Department
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Healthcare$53,762
Non Profit/Government$42,236
Education$40,297
Hospitality/Service$30,238