Family Service Specialist Family
Career series with 8 positions across 2 levels
New Jersey classifies Family Service Specialist as a 2-level family, 8 titles in all, built for step-by-step advancement.
Entry is typically through Family Service Specialist 2, advancing through the ladder toward Family Service Specialist 1. Pay across the family spans $69,668 to $117,228, around the 43rd percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 2,625 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Children and Families.
Family Service Specialist commonly advances into Program Specialist and Health Systems Specialist.
Positions in This Family
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 2 (62152) $69,668 - $101,951/year
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 2 (62152C) $69,668 - $101,951/year
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 1 (62153) $76,287 - $111,856/year
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 1 (62153C) $76,287 - $111,856/year
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 1 (62232) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 1 (62232C) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 2 (62233) $72,896 - $106,798/year
- FAMILY SERVICE SPECIALIST 2 (62233C) $72,896 - $106,798/year
What the Family Service Specialist family covers
Family Service Specialist covers 8 title codes arranged into 2 levels of responsibility. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
Case-carrying titles are the largest civilian block in New Jersey government outside clerical work. They run through the Department of Children and Families, Human Services, county welfare and social services boards, and the guardianship and child support programs. The families are usually built as clean numbered ladders because caseload complexity is what separates one rung from the next, not a change of profession. A social work degree is common at the professional levels, though many of the specialist and technician titles admit experience instead.
The ladder, ordered by pay
The Family Service Specialist rungs, listed from the best paid down. Note that the numbers in these titles do not run in pay order. In this family a lower number sits higher on the ladder, which is a New Jersey convention that catches people out when they read a title list top to bottom.
- Family Service Specialist 1 — $79,844 to $117,228 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Family Service Specialist 1 — $76,287 to $111,856 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Family Service Specialist 2 — $72,896 to $106,798 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Family Service Specialist 2 — $69,668 to $101,951 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Family Service Specialist 2 to the top of Family Service Specialist 1 is $47,560, an increase of about 68% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.
- Family Service Specialist 2: Under direction of a Supervising Family Service Specialist 2 or other supervisory official in the Department of Children and Families, performs field and…
- Family Service Specialist 1: Under direction of a Supervising Family Service Specialist 2 or other supervisory official in the Department of Children and Families, handles a caseload of…
Requirements across the family
Across the 8 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a master's degree on 8 of them. Experience requirements sit at 1 year wherever they are stated.
On how the jobs are filled: 8 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.
Who actually employs these titles
2,625 people appear on the state payroll under 2 of these titles, at 1 agency. Children and Families alone accounts for about 100% of them.
- Children and Families — 2,625 employees
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $86,027 for Family Service Specialist 2 up to $108,073 for Family Service Specialist 1. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
Hiring for this family runs through state service. Departments, commissions and boards fill these titles from eligible lists built by the Civil Service Commission, so the route in is an announcement and a filing deadline rather than a posting you apply to directly. What state jurisdiction means, and a breakdown of who employs what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
Other classifications built on the same terms as Family Service Specialist. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.
- Family Service Specialist Trainee ($63,663 to $66,592, state jurisdiction)
- Family Service Specialist Trainee ($63,663 to $66,592, state jurisdiction)
- Supervising Family Service Specialist 2 ($83,582 to $122,832, state jurisdiction) — in the Supervising Family Service Specialist family
- Family Service Worker (local jurisdiction)
- Family Service Supervisor (local jurisdiction)
- Assistant Family Service Worker 1 ($38,928 to $55,860, state jurisdiction) — in the Assistant Family Service Worker family
Common questions about Family Service Specialist jobs
How many separate Family Service Specialist classifications does New Jersey have?
The Family Service Specialist family holds 8 title codes arranged across 2 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
How much is a Family Service Specialist paid?
Published salary data for this family runs from $69,668 at the bottom of Family Service Specialist 2 to $117,228 at the top of Family Service Specialist 1. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Is there a civil service test for Family Service Specialist?
Yes for most of the family. 8 of the 8 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What are the requirements to become a Family Service Specialist?
The most common education requirement in this family is a master's degree, named on 8 of the 8 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 year depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Family Service Specialist staff?
State payroll records show 2,625 people in this family across 1 agency, with Children and Families the largest at 2,625. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.
Is Family Service Specialist 1 higher or lower than Family Service Specialist 3?
In this family the lower number is the more senior title. New Jersey's level numbering does not run in pay order, and reading the titles by number alone will give you the ladder upside down. The list above is sorted by what each title actually pays.