Both social workers and case managers play a role in making citizens’ lives better and providing them with the assistance they need. Their job is kind of similar, and as a result, people get confused between the two.
With few similarities, they have different roles in society.
Key Takeaways
- Case managers focus on coordinating client services, while social workers address various aspects of clients’ lives.
- Social workers require a degree in social work, while case managers may come from diverse educational backgrounds.
- Social workers can function as case managers, but case managers sometimes have the qualifications to be social workers.
Case Manager vs Social Worker
The difference between case managers and social workers is that a case manager’s work is to support client-based duties like connecting clients to available services according to their needs, while a social worker’s priority is to enrich someone’s personal life.
A case manager exists to provide people with the right available services. They are responsible for fulfilling the various needs of the clients by connecting them with the appropriate agencies.
Case managers keep track of their clients and their improvement.
Social workers’ job is to make their clients’ lives better and wholesome. They support their client to a better future and offers them the services to do so. They are sometimes licensed to give counselling.
They also save children and advocate for their clients.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Case Manager | Social Worker |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility | A case manager needs a degree in Community Services or Case Management or Social Sciences. | A social worker needs a Bachelor’s or Masters’s degree in Social Work. |
| Duty | A case manager is responsible to coordinate different services. | Social workers work as the protectors of the citizens. |
| Therapy | A case manager never offers therapy. | A social worker provides therapy as per need. |
| Contacts | A case manager keeps in contact with different institutions and agencies. | A social worker keeps in touch with different communities and welfare programs. |
| Objective | A case manager’s aim is to provide the right service to the clients to fulfil their necessities. | A social worker’s main goal is to make clients socially, physically, and mentally functional. |
What is Case Manager?
A case manager is a very responsible post. They are required to be responsible for making sure the client gets the services and benefits they need.
These given services to clients are also decided by the case managers. They interview the clients, and based on the data, they determine the right service and community.
These services are numerous, including employment assistance, financial advice, legal or medical assistance etc. Checking the clients’ growth also fall under their responsibilities.
When a client consults a case manager, the case manager gets committed to offering the client guidance and supervision. They do not provide any kind of therapy, but they suggest different programs and services that will fulfil their demands and needs.
Social managers work with agencies and institutions and recommend them to the client as per the requirements. They take care of the client’s needs and keep an eye on their growth in order to make sure they are getting the right results.
Anyone with a Diploma in Community Services or Case Management can become a case manager. People with a study background in Social Science, such as Psychology or Sociology, can also apply to become social managers.
What is Social Worker?
A social worker does a job of social work, and anyone with a Bachelor’s or Masters’s degree in Social Work is capable of doing the job. And a diploma is a specific area of expertise that can put you forward in the race.
A social worker’s daily job includes assisting their clients in handling various difficult situations that they face in life. These problems vary from illness to poverty.
Social workers work in different places to offer their hands to help. They can be found in schools and colleges, hospitals, community health centres, and even correctional facilities.
And their function depends on these places.
They also perform as an advocate for the people who need it. Poor and marginalised people can do justice with the help of social workers.
They also have children with abusive pasts and provide them with home and education.
They protect and fight for human rights. They take care of any need of the client, such as counselling or rehabilitation.
They keep records of the clients and keep them on the radar to make sure they are doing fine in life in future. Social workers look after vulnerable and underprivileged citizens.
Main Differences Between Case Manager and Social Worker
- To become a case manager, one needs to obtain a degree in Community Services or Case Management or Social Sciences, whereas to become a social worker needs, a Bachelor’s or Masters’s degree in Social Work is needed.
- A case manager is responsible for coordinating different services, while social workers have the role of protectors of the citizens.
- A case manager never offers therapy, but a social worker provides therapy, and some are licensed counsellors.
- A case manager works with different institutions and agencies to take care of their client’s needs, whereas a social worker keeps track of different welfare programs.
- A case manager’s aim is to provide the right service to the clients, and a social worker’s aim is to make clients personal life improved.
- https://journals.lww.com/professionalcasemanagementjournal/Fulltext/2018/07000/The_Social_Worker_Case_Manager___Owning__the.11.aspx
- https://journals.lww.com/professionalcasemanagementjournal/Fulltext/2005/05000/The_Social_Worker_and_Nurse_Roles_in_Case.2.aspx
Last Updated : 27 July, 2023
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