How to hire a mental health case manager

How to hire a mental health case manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step mental health case manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a mental health case manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new mental health case manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a mental health case manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a mental health case manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a mental health case manager to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a mental health case manager that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of mental health case managers.

   Type of Mental Health Case Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Mental Health Case Manager	Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.	$15-25
   Case Manager For Children	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... Show more	$12-22
   Case Manager Lead	A Case Manager Lead is responsible for providing an assessment, implementation, and overall evaluation of individual patient needs. They also assess patients satisfaction and the quality of the care provided.	$13-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Mental Health
   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Management Services
   • Rehabilitation
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Substance Abuse Issues
   • Severe Mental Illness
   • Medicaid
   • Discharge Planning
   • Social Services
   • Intake Assessments
   • CPR
   • Independent Living

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the care of patients with tuberculosis (TB) during their hospitalization and their discharge follow-up care.
   • Coordinate, collaborate, and refer to various community agencies to assist in meeting consumer's needs and maximizing their rehabilitation.
   • Perform intensive early intervention behavior therapy for children diagnose on the autism spectrum disorder using the principles of apply behavior analysis.
   • Organize and participate in the development, review and evaluation of IFSP meeting.
   • Assist the individual to access activities, supports and services identify in the ISP.
   • Coordinate cases with supervisor, team members, providers, DCF and attorneys as needed.

   More mental health case manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the mental health case manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A mental health case manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a mental health case manager in Mississippi may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level mental health case manager. Additionally, a mental health case manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average mental health case manager salary

   $42,574yearly

   $20.47 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level mental health case manager salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 1, 2026

   Average mental health case manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$70,295	$34
   2	New York	$61,185	$29
   3	Washington	$56,514	$27
   4	District of Columbia	$50,721	$24
   5	Minnesota	$50,503	$24
   6	Colorado	$46,015	$22
   7	South Dakota	$43,069	$21
   8	Michigan	$42,149	$20
   9	Texas	$38,880	$19
   10	Virginia	$38,854	$19
   11	Pennsylvania	$38,084	$18
   12	Ohio	$36,938	$18
   13	Arkansas	$27,114	$13

   Average mental health case manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Washington State University	$57,223	$27.51
   2	Denver Public Schools	$54,850	$26.37	3
   3	UC Santa Barbara	$52,943	$25.45
   4	Prince William County	$52,646	$25.31	2
   5	Evergreen Health Care	$50,328	$24.20
   6	Gulf Bend Center	$49,634	$23.86	5
   7	Pathways To Housing Dc	$49,062	$23.59	6
   8	Kaiser Permanente	$48,652	$23.39	164
   9	Telecare	$47,961	$23.06	154
   10	University of Texas System	$47,595	$22.88	32
   11	DESC	$46,819	$22.51	6
   12	Washburn Center for Children	$46,713	$22.46	2
   13	Johns Hopkins Medicine	$45,845	$22.04	43
   14	UCLA	$45,789	$22.01	10
   15	LifeWorks	$45,433	$21.84	30
   16	Virginia's Community Colleges	$45,269	$21.76	14
   17	Renewal, Inc.	$44,730	$21.50	15
   18	HHCLA	$44,703	$21.49
   19	Lifeline Connections	$44,614	$21.45	8
   20	OhioGuidestone	$44,513	$21.40	36

4. Writing a mental health case manager job description

   A mental health case manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a mental health case manager job description:

   Mental health case manager job description example

   About us: Step by Step, Inc is a non-profit organization that provides supports to over 2000 individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism, mental illness, and substance abuse. Our community-based programs provide a setting where individuals we serve can be independent.

   Responsibilities

   -The Case Manager- Mental Health Housing position is primarily responsible for the overall management of housing services

   -The Case Manager is required to make face to face contact with a minimum of 50 tenants and a maximum of 75 tenants at least once a year and as needed if housing problems arise.

   -The Case Manager must respond to calls from Tenant Services Liaison (TSL) within 24 hrs to ascertain concern or need

   -The Case Manager will be required to meet with participants and team members in the field to provide service delivery or for quality assurance purposes

   - Maintain regular contact with landlord, Property manager, TSL and Supportive Services Case Manager

   -Develop and maintain a tracking system for information as required by TSL and Step By Step, Inc Administration.

   -Participate in Mediation to Tenant/Landlord Disputes required by program guidelines.

   -Must Complete 24 hrs of training within the training year

   What we can offer you :

   · $2000 sign-on bonus and employee referral bonus

   · Weekly pay

   · Work/life balance

   · Paid trainings / free trainings

   · Generous vacation & sick leave

   · Premium holiday pay

   · Health, dental, and vision insurance

   · Short-term and accident insurance

   · Life and long-term disability insurance at no cost

   · Retirement plan (401k)

   · Flexible spending account (dependent care, medical expenses, and parking/transit)

   · Verizon, AT&T, and gym membership discounts

   About us: Step by Step, Inc is a non-profit organization that provides supports to over 2000 individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism, mental illness, and substance abuse. Our community-based programs provide a setting where individuals we serve can be independent.

   Qualifications

   -Associate degree in Human Services/Social Services, Healthcare, or a related field and 3 years of residential and or supported housing experience preferred or any combination of experience, education or training that would provide the level of knowledge, skill and ability required. Experience must include individuals who have severe and persistent mental illness, addiction and other challenges required

   -Valid Driver’s License, a Clean Driving Record and no prohibitive criminal offense.
   

   Step By Step is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. At Step By Step Inc, we are committed to and value an inclusive and diverse workforce and we believe that diversity and inclusion among our workforce is critical to our success. Equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and staff without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information

   #LI-CO1
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find mental health case managers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your mental health case manager job on Zippia to find and recruit mental health case manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit mental health case managers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new mental health case manager

   Once you've decided on a perfect mental health case manager candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new mental health case manager first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a mental health case manager?