Wichita, Kansas · compiled October 13, 2026

Fifteen openings,
and what each one
costs you.

Every role here was pulled from a live posting this week, priced against the $24 an hour you make today, and judged on the one thing a salary line never shows: what your week turns into.

$24.00your rate today
$28.27highest open rate, no license
+$2,722a year, licensed, same job
20children on your caseload now

Where each role lands against today

UnitedHealthcare, field coordinator$28.27 to $50.48
State of Kansas, child protection supervisor$28.11
Sunflower Health Plan, LTSS care manager$27.02 to $48.55
TFI Family Services, case manager$27.07
EmberHope, permanency supervisor$24.04 to $33.65
DCF, child protection specialist$24.87 to $26.18
Sedgwick County, access coordinator$24.88
Sedgwick County, integrated care specialist II$23.69

Solid is the starting number, faded is the top of the posted band.Vertical line marks your $24.00.Scale runs $20 to $40 an hour.

Eight questions, then this list gets sharper

Answer these to Anna in a sentence each. Half of the roles below are either perfect or impossible depending on your answers, and right now I am guessing.

01

Do you hold any BSRB license right now, or only the degree?

Three of the best-paying roles here are closed without one, and the state pays $2,722.50 more a year for the same job when you are licensed.

02

How many years in child welfare, in total?

Two years unlocks the supervisor postings, and every wide pay band is decided by this number in the interview.

03

Would you supervise other case managers?

Supervisor roles pay the most of anything open in your field right now, including one inside EmberHope.

04

Does a school calendar appeal to you?

The district pays above your rate and gives you summers, but it requires a license, so it hangs on question one.

05

Field visits, or a desk and a phone?

The health plan roles are field based with a home office. The remote one pays the same and never puts you in a car.

06

What is your commute limit, in minutes?

Butler County, Newton and Hutchinson all have openings that pay more than Wichita for the same work.

07

Is leaving child welfare on the table?

Aging services, behavioral health and managed care all hire your skill set, and two of them pay more than you make now.

08

Which matters more right now, the number or the hours?

You can have a raise with the same overload, or the same pay with your evenings back. Almost nothing here gives you both.

Pays more, and your degree is enough

No license required for any of these. Sorted by what they pay.

$28.27to $50.48 / hr

Field Based HSS Clinical Coordinator

UnitedHealthcare Community & State · Sedgwick County

RaiseBSW acceptedNo licenseHome office, 2 to 3 field days

The closest translation of what you already do. You coordinate care for KanCare members in their homes instead of carrying court custody. Your juvenile court record and home assessments read as senior here, and living in Wichita means the rest of the week is telecommute.

Range as posted · careers.unitedhealthgroup.com, req 2351940

$28.11per hour

Child Protection Supervisor

State of Kansas, DCF · Butler County

RaiseRequirements read from the postingBachelor's in social work or human servicesState benefits and KPERS

$58,471.88 a year to supervise the work you have been doing alone. You already know this system from the provider side, which is the half most candidates lack. El Dorado is about thirty minutes out.

State of Kansas careers site · read October 13, 2026

$27.07per hour

Case Manager

TFI Family Services · Wichita

RaiseBachelor's in human services2 years child placement

Your exact job at another DCF contracted provider, three dollars an hour higher. You qualify today. Said plainly: the caseload model is the same, so the hours problem comes with you.

Rate as posted on the job board

$27.02to $48.55 / hr

LTSS Service Care Manager

Sunflower Health Plan, Centene · remote in Kansas

RaiseBachelor's plus 2 to 4 yearsFully remote

Long term services and supports planning for KanCare members. You already write service plans and chase compliance across a dozen agencies, which is the whole job, minus the transport and the court calendar.

Range as posted · jobs.centene.com

$24.87unlicensed · $26.18 licensed

Child Protection Specialist

State of Kansas, DCF · Sedgwick County

RaiseRequirements read from the postingFour-year degree, no license neededState benefits and KPERS

$51,727.50 unlicensed, $54,450.00 licensed, for the public side of the work you do for a contractor. This posting is the clearest proof that the credential is worth money: same desk, same job, $2,722.50 more a year.

State of Kansas careers site · read October 13, 2026

$24.04to $33.65 / hr

Permanency Supervisor

EmberHope · Wichita

Raise at the topRequirements read from the postingBSW plus 2 years direct serviceLicense preferred, not required

$50,000 to $70,000 to supervise your own department, where you already know every process and every person. The lowest risk raise on this page, and the only one where your reputation is already written. The band is wide, so the number comes down to how you present the last two years.

EmberHope posting · read October 13, 2026

$23.00to $26.50 / hr

Team Supervisor

Camber Children's Mental Health · Wichita

Children's behavioral healthSupervisory

Children's psychiatric and behavioral health, leading a team. Top of the band beats today, the bottom does not, so this one is decided entirely in the offer conversation.

Rate as posted on the job board

What the license would open today

These three are live right now and will not take your application without a BSRB credential. They are here so the paperwork has a price tag.

$28.85to $31.25 / hr

Social Worker Specialist

Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services · Sedgwick County

Current LBSW, LMSW or LSCSWRequirements read from the postingState benefits and KPERS

$60,000 to $65,000 a year, adult protection and crisis work alongside licensed staff. The LBSW alone qualifies you, which is the cheapest version of this credential to earn.

State of Kansas careers site · read October 13, 2026

$27.56to $40.31 / hr

Social Work Case Manager

Ascension Via Christi · Wichita

License required before hireRequirements read from the postingHospital discharge planning

$57,328.70 to $83,843.23 a year. Discharge planning, placement and family coordination under time pressure. You do this work every week already, without the hospital badge. The posting asks for the BSW degree plus a Kansas license obtained before the hire date.

Ascension careers posting · read October 13, 2026

$25.19per hour and up

Qualified Behavior Interventionist

Wichita Public Schools, USD 259 · several campuses

Teaching, counseling or social work licenseRequirements read from the postingSchool calendar

From $52,401 a year, with the school year as your schedule and summers off. Of everything here, this is the role that most changes what a week feels like. Several campuses are hiring at once.

USD 259 posting · read October 13, 2026

Pays about the same, buys back your week

Sedgwick County pays close to what you earn now, read directly from the county's own postings. What changes is the structure around the work: a defined schedule, county benefits, and KPERS.

$24.88per hour

Access Coordinator, COMCARE

Sedgwick County · Wichita

Verified on employer siteBachelor's or equivalent experience

Front door of the county's behavioral health system: screening, referral, community education. A small raise, and your week ends when your shift does.

careers.sedgwickcounty.org · read October 13, 2026

$23.69per hour

School Based Integrated Care Specialist II, COMCARE

Sedgwick County · Wichita schools

Verified on employer siteBachelor's or equivalent experienceNo license needed

Behavioral health inside schools, with treatment planning and family participation. The school setting without the license requirement, about thirty cents below today.

careers.sedgwickcounty.org · read October 13, 2026

$23.69per hour

Adult Field Based Integrated Care Specialist II, COMCARE

Sedgwick County · Wichita

Verified on employer siteBachelor's or equivalent experience

Adult clients, community based, treatment planning and coordination. Same craft, different population, no custody hearings.

careers.sedgwickcounty.org · read October 13, 2026

$23.50to $25.50 / hr

Case Manager

DCCCA · Wichita

Bachelor's in human servicesSubstance use and behavioral health

Top of the band is a raise, the bottom is a cut. Worth applying only with your number decided before the call.

Range as posted on the job board

$22.56to $30.45 / hr

Case Manager

Saint Francis Ministries · Newton and Hutchinson

Bachelor's acceptedCommute, 25 to 50 miles

A wide band makes your experience the entire negotiation. Ask where in the band your years and court record land before the interview, not after the offer.

Range as posted on the job board

The license is the lever

Kansas lets you sit for the LBSW, the Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker credential, with the degree you already hold. It is issued by the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board, and this page can now price it exactly.

+$2,722.50per year at DCF for the same job, licensed instead of unlicensed
$57,328floor of the hospital role that will not take an application without it
$60,000floor of the state aging and disability role, where the LBSW alone qualifies

How to work this list

  1. Answer the eight questions. Several roles above are either perfect or impossible depending on the license answer alone.
  2. Apply to UnitedHealthcare and Sunflower first. They pay the most, they cut the driving, and managed care hires slowly, so the clock starts the day you apply.
  3. Apply to both state roles the same week. The Butler County supervisor posting is the highest fixed salary here that takes your degree exactly as it stands.
  4. Put in for the EmberHope supervisor opening. Applying internally costs you nothing and your record there is already written.
  5. Start the LBSW paperwork in parallel. Nothing on this list has to wait for it, and the three best-paying roles do.
  6. In every interview, lead with the number: twenty children, each with a network of dozens of parties, inside a fifty hour cap. That sentence is your whole resume.