Foster care case manager vs therapeutic support staff

The differences between foster care case managers and therapeutic support staff can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a foster care case manager and a therapeutic support staff. Additionally, a foster care case manager has an average salary of $39,279, which is higher than the $34,086 average annual salary of a therapeutic support staff.

The top three skills for a foster care case manager include foster care, social work and foster children. The most important skills for a therapeutic support staff are autism, social work, and rehabilitation.

Foster care case manager vs therapeutic support staff overview

	Foster Care Case Manager	Therapeutic Support Staff
Yearly salary	$39,279	$34,086
Hourly rate	$18.88	$16.39
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	134,853	192,172
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	12	12

What does a foster care case manager do?

A Foster Care Case Manager provides social work counseling to foster children, families, and foster parents. They plan and coordinate treatments for the required children in accordance with specified requirements.

What does a therapeutic support staff do?

A therapeutic support staff member specializes in providing guidance and counseling to individuals with emotional support needs, mainly children. They are primarily responsible for building rapport with clients while assessing their different conditions and needs. Through this assessment, therapeutic support staff can develop specific treatments in collaboration with mental health practitioners. One may directly work with schools, clinics, and other medical health facilities. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain all clients' records and monitor their progress, regularly updating the assigned physician or caseworker.

Foster care case manager vs therapeutic support staff salary

Foster care case managers and therapeutic support staff have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Foster Care Case Manager	Therapeutic Support Staff
Average salary	$39,279	$34,086
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $49,000	Between $27,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Chicago, IL	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	Scripps Health	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between foster care case manager and therapeutic support staff education

There are a few differences between a foster care case manager and a therapeutic support staff in terms of educational background:

	Foster Care Case Manager	Therapeutic Support Staff
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Foster care case manager vs therapeutic support staff demographics

Here are the differences between foster care case managers' and therapeutic support staff' demographics:

	Foster Care Case Manager	Therapeutic Support Staff
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9%	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 5.5% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between foster care case manager and therapeutic support staff duties and responsibilities

Foster care case manager example 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.
Provide services to and on behalf of the consumers, natural families and foster families refer to the agency from DHS.
Perform concurrent review to assure appropriateness of admission, inpatient/acute care, rehabilitation/SNF status, and discharge using establish InterQual guidelines.

Therapeutic support staff example responsibilities.

Earn reputation for working with some of the most trouble adolescents in district using compassion and patience to achieve goals.
Observe patients and strategically prepare and manage clinical analysis of individuals and their progress in conjunction with formulate behavior goals.
Provide one-on-one interventions, including crisis intervention, behavior management support, emotional support, time-structure activities, and psychological rehabilitation.
Implement specific ABA therapeutic interventions that are developed to stabilize and improve the child's behavior.
Experience working with children with ADHD, autism, and a variety of other behavioral health disabilities.
Provide behavioral interventions within the community and home to children with autism or other emotional support needs

Foster care case manager vs therapeutic support staff skills

Common foster care case manager skills

Foster Care, 23%
Social Work, 20%
Foster Children, 6%
Community Resources, 6%
Child Abuse, 5%
Management Services, 5%

Common therapeutic support staff skills

Autism, 12%
Social Work, 10%
Rehabilitation, 8%
Emotional Support, 6%
Mental Health, 6%
Compassion, 5%

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Foster Care Case Manager
Foster Care Case Manager vs Therapeutic Support Staff

Updated January 8, 2025

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