How To Become A Foster Care Case Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a foster care case manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Meredith Bertrand,

Dr. T. Thao Pham Ph.D.

A foster care case manager supports children in foster care and their families. They are often the child's legal guardians and responsible for their safety. One of the most important services that a foster care case manager provides is coordinating counseling. Many children in foster care have been through intense trauma and their families need professional support in order to provide them with the help they need. Foster care case managers also help organize other support services, such as access to insurance or supervised visits with birth parents. Usually foster care case managers have 10-20 families they are responsible for.

Foster care case managers must have at least a bachelor's degree in social work or a related field. They also need a few years of professional experience in the field of child welfare.

Foster care case managers earn an average salary of $45,121 a year. They work long hours and even weekends, but for many the joy of providing vulnerable children with safety is worth all the work.

What general advice would you give to a foster care case manager?

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

Chair of Education; Associate Professor of Education, Elms College

History is ever-changing, and teachers must clarify how current events are just as much a part of the study of history as any other socio-political period or event. If you are not comparing the civil rights movement of today to the ongoing civil rights movements of the past, and if you are not supporting the campaign against oppression and institutional racism upon which our nation was built, then you are doing continuous harm to those who need you to act and disrupt the cycle. History teachers better be ready to be activists, not just teachers, or else you are perpetuating the status quo.

ScoreFoster Care Case ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,279

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.82%

Asian 5.30%

Black or African American 12.50%

Hispanic or Latino 14.12%

Unknown 4.88%

White 61.38%

Gender

female 79.92%

male 20.08%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a foster care case manager

Explore foster care case manager education requirements

Most common foster care case manager degrees

Bachelor's

76.9 %

Master's

16.5 %

Associate

5.1 %

Start to develop specific foster care case manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Foster Care	23.09%
Social Work	19.60%
Foster Children	5.59%
Community Resources	5.53%
Child Abuse	5.05%

Complete relevant foster care case manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New foster care case managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a foster care case manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real foster care case manager resumes.

Research foster care case manager duties and responsibilities

Manage caseloads for Medicaid; interviewing and instructing clients in proper preparation of documentation.
Prepare court reports, petitions and provide testimony to support case management as required by DHS contract and court mandates.
Assure that DCFS policies and procedures, and all applicable laws, rules, and policies are follow.
Supervise visitation between DCFS wards and their parents and siblings in order to observe parent-child interaction and ensure safety.

Prepare your foster care case manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your foster care case manager resume.

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