Post job

What does an adult case manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Lesley Casarez Ph.D.
What does an adult case manager do
On this page

Adult case manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real adult case manager resumes:

  • Provide clients support with basic ADL's (shopping, payee services, budgets, managing and attending appointments).
  • Perform concurrent review to assure appropriateness of admission, inpatient/acute care, rehabilitation/SNF status, and discharge using establish InterQual guidelines.
  • Participate in IEP meetings and work with school administrators to advocate in behalf of clients and families.
  • Attend IEP meetings to review and modify educational needs/goals affording academic success.
  • Conduct intensive case management and quality control for file accuracy in order to ensure HUD regulations are accurately implement.

Adult case manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 19% of Adult Case Managers are proficient in Social Work, Crisis Intervention, and Substance Abuse. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Adult Case Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Social Work, 19%

    Participated in developing treatment plans with other mental health providers including doctors, licensed professional counselors and clinical social workers.

  • Crisis Intervention, 8%

    Serve as part of a multidisciplinary treatment team performing assessments, and initiating treatment interventions and crisis intervention.

  • Substance Abuse, 8%

    Manage extremely volatile patients, Conduct comprehensive assessments for anger management, mental health treatment and/or substance abuse treatment.

  • Management Services, 8%

    Provided case management services for a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility * Facilitated the admissions process for 2 residential treatment programs

  • Mental Health, 7%

    Provided client advocacy, direct linkage to community resources and services; Coordinated and implemented mental health/support services with individual clients.

  • Patients, 6%

    Participated in the assessment, development and implementation of services to mentally ill patients in accordance with their individualized service plan.

Most adult case managers use their skills in "social work," "crisis intervention," and "substance abuse" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential adult case manager responsibilities here:

Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform adult case manager duties is communication skills. Adult case managers responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." Adult case managers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintained communication with various resources and community agencies. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of adult case managers is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday adult case manager 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: "facilitate community groups on a monthly basis, with the aim of community integration, socialization, and interpersonal skills training. "

Organizational skills. adult case manager responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." This resume example shows what adult case managers do with organizational skills on a typical day: "assist person served and parents/guardians in securing resources serve as organizational liaison to parents, guardians and community resources. "

Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in adult case manager job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what adult case managers do. Adult case manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." You can also see how adult case manager duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "group leader for "team solution" (medication management, health and wellness). "

Compassion. Lastly, "compassion" is an important element of what an adult case manager does. Adult case manager responsibilities require this skill because "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." This resume example highlights how adult case manager duties rely on this skill: "provide compassionate personalized nursing care services to patients. "

All adult case manager skills

The three companies that hire the most adult case managers are:

Choose from 10+ customizable adult case manager resume templates

Build a professional adult case manager resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your adult case manager resume.
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume
Adult Case Manager Resume

Compare different adult case managers

Adult case manager vs. Case worker

Caseworkers are social workers who watch over the welfare of underprivileged individuals and at-risk families by counseling and providing them with assistance. Usually employed under the government or a local non-profit organization, a caseworker must conduct a thorough interview and house visits to determine the needs of the family. They then refer them to any programs or agencies that can give them the specific care and help needed. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify neglect and abuse signs, reporting them to the authorities right away.

The annual salary of case workers is $2,442 higher than the average salary of adult case managers.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both adult case manager and case worker positions are skilled in social work, crisis intervention, and substance abuse.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between adult case managers and case worker. For instance, adult case manager responsibilities require skills such as "management services," "rehabilitation," "severe mental illness," and "persistent mental illness." Whereas a case worker is skilled in "child abuse," "customer service," "foster care," and "intake assessments." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Case workers tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,730. In contrast, adult case managers make the biggest average salary, $42,336, in the health care industry.On average, case workers reach similar levels of education than adult case managers. Case workers are 1.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Adult case manager vs. Case manager/program manager

The duties of a case management coordinator depend on one's place or industry of employment. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around maintaining and organizing records of cases and transactions, processing documentation, organizing data, and reviewing cases using a particular software to identify any errors or inconsistencies. There are also instances when they must reach out to clients and assist them with their needs. Furthermore, as a management coordinator, it is essential to maintain an active and transparent communication line across different departments and areas, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.

A career as a case manager/program manager brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an adult case manager. In fact, case manager/program managers salary is $393 higher than the salary of adult case managers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Adult case managers and case manager/program managers both require similar skills like "social work," "crisis intervention," and "substance abuse" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that adult case manager responsibilities requires skills like "severe mental illness," "medicaid," "persistent mental illness," and "dual diagnosis." But a case manager/program manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "foster care," "criminal justice," "money management," and "intake assessments."

Case manager/program managers earn a higher average salary than adult case managers. But case manager/program managers earn the highest pay in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $40,445. Additionally, adult case managers earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $42,336 annually.In general, case manager/program managers achieve similar levels of education than adult case managers. They're 4.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for adult case managers in the next 3-5 years?

Lesley Casarez Ph.D.Lesley Casarez Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University

Graduates will need to learn to use technology in which virtual platforms are taking place and web conferencing platforms. Numerous platforms are being used, so the particular platform itself is not as crucial as being well-versed in how virtual education differs from face-to-face environments. Typically, the instructional role in online learning is more of a facilitator, as the educator guides the students to think critically, integrate, and apply new knowledge. This may be difficult for educators who would rather stand in front of a classroom and pass on their knowledge through lecture-based formats. Additionally, being well-versed in various web conferencing platforms will benefit graduates, as they move into a career that is currently requiring communication in virtual environments.

Adult case manager vs. Case management coordinator

Case managers focus on guiding clients in helping their needs, resolving problems, and provide support through coursing them to relevant welfare organizations and agencies. It is the case manager's job to create case studies on subjects, in this case, children, for a social worker to provide an assessment. In many situations, the case manager is a licensed social worker who focuses on providing help for children in need. A case manager is mostly seen in government agencies and welfare organizations, hospitals, and healthcare facilities.

On average, case management coordinators earn higher salaries than adult case managers, with a $8,046 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on adult case managers and case management coordinators resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "social work," "crisis intervention," and "substance abuse.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from adult case manager resumes include skills like "management services," "rehabilitation," "severe mental illness," and "financial assistance," whereas a case management coordinator is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "patient care," "care coordination," and "risk management. "

Case management coordinators make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $48,125. On the other hand, adult case managers are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $42,336.Most case management coordinators achieve a similar degree level compared to adult case managers. For example, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Adult case manager vs. Case manager for children

Case managers for children average a lower salary than the annual salary of adult case managers. The difference is about $3,404 per year.According to resumes from adult case managers and case managers for children, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "social work," "crisis intervention," and "substance abuse. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between adult case managers and case managers for children, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an adult case manager might have more use for skills like "patients," "severe mental illness," "financial assistance," and "medicaid." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of case managers for children require skills like "child abuse," "foster care," "autism," and "child welfare. "

The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for case managers for children, with average annual pay of $39,229. Comparatively, the highest adult case manager annual salary comes from the health care industry.case managers for children reach similar levels of education compared to adult case managers, in general. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of adult case manager

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.

Browse community and social services jobs