What does a case planner do?
Case planners are social workers who provide assistance to children and their families to improve their social and psychological functioning as well as maximize the well-being of families. These planners are required to design service plans that address the safety, behavioral, education, and permanency needs of families and adolescents. They must identify potential child abuse and report any suspected abuses to the appropriate authorities. Case planners must also facilitate counseling to domestic violence victims and assist families in obtaining protection orders from victim service nonprofit organizations.
Case planner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real case planner resumes:
- Manage a caseload of families with children in DSS custody awaiting return home to family of origin base upon progress make.
- Keep current on Medicaid rates/services they will reimburse for Medicaid recipients.
- Sign patients up for all Medicare and Medicaid benefits that are offer to them.
- Perform concurrent review to assure appropriateness of admission, inpatient/acute care, rehabilitation/SNF status, and discharge using establish InterQual guidelines.
- Make referrals to home care and/or DME vendors using Medicare/Medicaid criteria/eligibility.
Case planner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Case Planners are proficient in Social Work, Foster Care, and NYC. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Case Planners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 18%
Work with Licensed Clinical Social Worker to diagnose qualifying clients with primary, secondary and/or tertiary mental health diagnoses.
- Foster Care, 16%
Maintained numerous supportive relationships with social services agencies while effectively assessing the needs and providing appropriate referrals for foster care services.
- NYC, 5%
Acted as a liaison to NYC Public Assistance Office, ACS, NYCHA and Family and Criminal Courts.
- Substance Abuse, 5%
Developed individual and family counseling sessions for families dealing with mental illness and/or substance abuse.
- Crisis Intervention, 5%
Provided individual, family and group counseling services along with crisis intervention and advocacy assistance to at-risk youths.
- NYS, 4%
Document detailed findings and reported critical information requiring immediate and long-term action into NYS Connections System.
Most case planners use their skills in "social work," "foster care," and "nyc" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential case planner responsibilities here:
Compassion. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a case planner 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." Case planners often use compassion in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide compassionate personalized nursing care services to patients. "
Time-management skills. Another essential skill to perform case planner duties is time-management skills. Case planners responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." Case planners also use time-management skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "submitted and permanency reports, fasp, and progress notes to family court and complied with all deadlines. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for case planners to perform their duties. For an example of how case planner responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a case planner: "maintained regular communication and contact with drug treatment and acs to ensure client follow-up on service plans. ".
Interpersonal skills. For certain case planner responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a case planner rely on this skill, as "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what case planners do: "position requires knowledge and ability in computer programs including ccms, peoplesoft, interqual, and good interpersonal skills. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a case planner to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what case planners relies on this skill, since "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." How this skill relates to case planner duties can be seen in an example from a case planner resume snippet: "assisted with conversions from drs hsp to dhs home based funding skills used interpersonal skills organizational skills computer skills"
Problem-solving skills. Lastly, "problem-solving skills" is an important element of what a case planner does. Case planner responsibilities require this skill because "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." This resume example highlights how case planner duties rely on this skill: "complete training in solution based casework as well as child success nyc. "
The three companies that hire the most case planners are:
- Sheltering Arms24 case planners jobs
- Good Shepherd Services18 case planners jobs
- Lower Eastside Service Center17 case planners jobs
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Compare different case planners
Case planner vs. Behavioral health specialist
Typically working for clinics and learning institutions, a behavioral health specialist is in charge of counseling and treating patients with behavioral issues. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial assessment through interview and observation, maintaining records and data, developing treatment plans, and referring patients to other support services when necessary. Moreover, a behavioral health specialist must communicate with the patient's families or guardians, discuss conditions, and provide advice on taking care of them. Aside from treating patients, it is also essential to continuously monitor their behavior while building positive relationships with them.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a case planner are more likely to require skills like "nyc," "nys," "child abuse," and "collateral contacts." On the other hand, a job as a behavioral health specialist requires skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," "patient care," and "mental illness." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Behavioral health specialists tend to make the most money working in the insurance industry, where they earn an average salary of $53,632. In contrast, case planners make the biggest average salary, $42,477, in the professional industry.behavioral health specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than case planners. In fact, behavioral health specialists are 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Case planner vs. Mental health specialist
A mental health specialist is responsible for evaluating a patient's mental health condition and develop appropriate treatment plans to help the patients cope up with their mental difficulties. Mental health specialists provide counseling to the patients, listening to their situation, and responding with the utmost consideration. They also create regular progress reports and medical charts to monitor ongoing medication, updating treatment plans as needed. A mental health specialist must have excellent communication and organization skills, helping the patients deal with their mental stress and return to a healthy lifestyle.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, case planner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "foster care," "nyc," "nys," and "child abuse." Meanwhile, a mental health specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "rehabilitation," "cpr," and "vital signs." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, mental health specialists earn a higher salary than case planners. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, mental health specialists earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $47,531. Whereas case planners have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $42,477.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Mental health specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than case planners. In fact, they're 3.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for case planners in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Case planner vs. Social services specialist
A Social Services Specialist provides social services to children and adults in communities, facilities, institutions, or hospitals. They develop and implement specialized treatment programs.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a case planner is likely to be skilled in "nyc," "nys," "address safety," and "permanency planning," while a typical social services specialist is skilled in "patients," "discharge planning," "term care," and "mds."
Social services specialists earn the highest salary when working in the insurance industry, where they receive an average salary of $64,884. Comparatively, case planners have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $42,477.social services specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to case planners. Specifically, they're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Case planner vs. Family support worker
A family service worker is a social service agent who assesses the needs of family and promotes wellbeing, social justice, and human rights through governmental and social service agencies. Family service workers offer services that can include counseling and mediation to families that will help them navigate the protocols of the social system. They act as liaisons between families facing problems and different government organizations. Family service workers also ensure that families in need are getting the benefits they are entitled to, as well as help them access various community resources.
Types of case planner
Updated January 8, 2025
