How to hire a residential case manager

How to hire a residential case manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step residential 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 residential case manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new residential case manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a residential 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

   Hiring the perfect residential case manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of residential case manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Residential Case Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Residential Case Manager	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$15-22
   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:

   • Social Work
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Mental Health
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Behavioral Issues
   • Management Services
   • Substance Abuse
   • Community Resources
   • Foster Care
   • Independent Living
   • Crisis Management
   • Symptom Management
   • Medical Appointments
   • Persistent Mental Illness

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage a residential facility for adolescents with severe autism and psychiatric conditions.
   • Perform concurrent review to assure appropriateness of admission, inpatient/acute care, rehabilitation/SNF status, and discharge using establish InterQual guidelines.
   • Provide case management through treatment planning, teaching, and assisting with ADL's and IADL's.
   • Assist clients to live responsibly in the community by providing budgeting support, coaching to locate employment and ADL's.
   • Conduct intensive case management and quality control for file accuracy in order to ensure HUD regulations are accurately implement.

   More residential case manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the residential case manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A residential 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 residential case manager in Missouri may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level residential case manager. Additionally, a residential case manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average residential case manager salary

   $39,297yearly

   $18.89 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level residential case manager salary

   $32,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average residential case manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$51,997	$25
   2	New York	$45,798	$22
   3	Massachusetts	$43,456	$21
   4	Connecticut	$43,367	$21
   5	Washington	$42,814	$21
   6	Texas	$41,312	$20
   7	Oregon	$41,145	$20
   8	Colorado	$40,084	$19
   9	Virginia	$39,520	$19
   10	Michigan	$39,287	$19
   11	Alaska	$39,195	$19
   12	Pennsylvania	$36,965	$18
   13	Florida	$36,425	$18
   14	North Carolina	$35,220	$17
   15	Rhode Island	$33,778	$16
   16	Missouri	$33,028	$16
   17	Georgia	$32,579	$16
   18	Indiana	$31,860	$15

   Average residential case manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Care New England Health System	$41,832	$20.11	56
   2	Telecare	$41,496	$19.95	95
   3	CitySquare	$40,743	$19.59
   4	Community Care Alliance	$40,735	$19.58	8
   5	Sanctuary for Families	$40,111	$19.28	2
   6	Odyssey House Louisiana	$40,109	$19.28	11
   7	Pine Street Inn	$40,030	$19.25	22
   8	Wellmore Behavioral Health	$39,963	$19.21	3
   9	LifeStream Behavioral Center	$39,918	$19.19
   10	Powell Valley Care Ctr	$39,894	$19.18
   11	HealthRIGHT 360	$39,786	$19.13	57
   12	Catholic Charities Health and Human Services	$39,547	$19.01
   13	Catholic Charities of Oregon	$39,436	$18.96
   14	CFCE	$39,317	$18.90	7
   15	St. Catherine's Center for Children	$39,237	$18.86	8
   16	Colorado Coalition for the Homeless	$39,152	$18.82	15
   17	Epworth	$39,108	$18.80	5
   18	Oaks Integrated Care	$39,037	$18.77	45
   19	Volunteers of America Colorado	$39,025	$18.76	3
   20	Northern Rivers Family of Services	$39,021	$18.76

4. Writing a residential case manager job description

   A good residential case manager job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a residential case manager job description:

   Residential case manager job description example

   Provide psycho-social rehab services in order to facilitate program goals and objectives in a quality care approach.
   ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
   
   Provide case management and support to consumers.
   -Treat consumers with respect.
   -Provide support counseling, problem solving, contracts and limit setting.
   -Establish attainable goals with the consumer.
   -Involve consumer, agencies and others in planning.
   -Assist consumer in deciding which areas they want to address.
   -Assist and monitor the group home consumers with basic medical procedures and hygiene needs.
   -Encourage consumers to attain the highest possible levels of independence.
   -Accept the values and lifestyles of consumers.
   -Use a flexible approach with a diverse population. Make assessments and provide appropriate crisis interventions and risk management as needed to maintain a calm and safe environment. Teach consumers adult daily living skills assisting them in all aspects of their life in the group home.
   -Teach, supervise and assist consumers with doing household chores (morning and evening, laundry, room cleaning, etc.) using realistic situations. Initiate treatment and advocate for consumer within network of care.
   -Negotiate and schedule appointments for consumers within The Center and with outside agencies (Social Security Supplemental Insurance (S.S.I.), Food Stamps, Advocates Office, Medical Doctor, etc.). Assist in the development and implementation of socialization and recreational activities within the group home, in the community, and by attending Day Program groups and activities. Transport consumers in own vehicle or Center van to planned activities and appointments. Complete recordkeeping in accordance with Health Information Services (HIS) and other Center requirements and abide by Center confidentiality policy. Maintain cooperative relationships with Center staff, consumers, community agencies and the public. QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
   
   EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
   Associate’s degree in Human Services or related field required. Bachelor’s degree preferred. Experience in residential facilities helpful. CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS
   Must have valid driver's license and insured auto.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find residential 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 residential case manager job on Zippia to find and recruit residential case manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting residential case managers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   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 residential case manager

   Once you've found the residential case manager candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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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