How Much Can I Make Working for Administration for Children and Families (ACF)?

The Administration for Children and Families is an essential part of the federal government’s Department of Health and Human Services. The responsibilities of this federal agency are quite broad but, as its name might suggest, virtually all of those responsibilities are concerned with the continued health and good fortune of all of America’s families. The agency is responsible for running a crisis hotline that helps children who are considering running away. It’s a central component of the child support system for divorced parents, and works with employers to ensure that such payments are being made on schedule. The agency has workers who focus on healthy marriage initiatives, human trafficking at home and abroad, and several other areas.

With such a broad range of responsibilities and endeavors, it’s no surprise that the average salary at the Administration for Children and Families varies greatly based on the specific position held by each worker. Even so, it’s easy to look at some of the most popular positions and estimate an average salary based on the agency’s pay scale and its historical compensation averages.

The Big Bucks: Reserved for Leadership, Analysts, and Statisticians

Every federal agency is subject to a pay scale based on each worker’s title, position, responsibilities, qualifications, and experience. Generally, the upper tiers of the pay scale used by the Administration for Children and Families is reserved for those professionals who work in leadership, executive management, analysis, or statistics. In fact, one of the highest-paying entry-level positions is simply to work for the agency as an official statistician. Even those who are completely new to the position will earn a starting salary of $89,000 per year. Over the course of their careers, it’s possible to max out the pay scale at a whopping $115,500 per year on average.

Another high-paying position within the agency is leadership and executive management. These positions oversee specific departments, such a those that focus on child support, human trafficking, crisis prevention, and others. Their experience level is often quite high at the time of their hiring, since most of these managers are promoted from within. The ACF pays $90,000 per year and $145,000 per year to these individuals based on their years of experience and the significance of their positions.

One of the more popular positions for those without agency experience or a mathematical background is that of a policy analyst. These positions often start with an annual salary of $59,000 per year and increase on an annual basis until professionals max out the scale at about $79,000 annually. This position is primarily concerned with analyzing current and potential agency policies, looking for inefficiencies, adjustments, and new areas of concern. Analysts then recommend chances or slight modifications of agency policies to executive leadership or department managers.

A Central Agency for America’s Families

The ACF is the leading federal institution concerned with the preservation and promotion of the American family unit. With professional managers, analysts, and statisticians who comb through various demographic reports, federal policies, and foreign developments, it’s also one of the highest-paying components of the overall Department of Health and Human Services. For those with a background in everything from mathematics to social work and business administration, positions with the Administration for Children and Families are both abundant and, in terms of annual compensation, quite generous.

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