Case managers and social workers support society by aligning vulnerable populations with care and services that can help them. Case management in social work helps social workers and case managers manage complex cases, track progress, and report on outcomes.
In this article we’ll provide an overview of case management in social work, how case managers and social workers differ professionally, and what their day-to-day responsibilities look like.
What is Case Management in Social Work?
Case management is an integral component of modern social work. A 2006 NASW benchmark study showed that social workers spend more than 50% of their time doing case management.
Social workers perform case management to create care plans, align clients with services, organize case data, monitor progress, and evaluate interventions over time. Social workers log client and provider interactions with case notes and perform regular follow-ups. They also coordinate care among a network of internal and external service providers to align care and keep everybody on the same page.