What is a client advocacy professional?
The Commission® uses the term client advocacy professional to describe a broad and diverse group of professionals whose work centers on advocating for the interests and needs of the clients they serve.
This includes professional case managers, disability management specialists, social workers, behavioral health professionals, client and patient advocates, community health workers, and other interprofessional partners who help individuals navigate care, services, benefits and support systems.
What does a client advocacy professional do?
Client advocacy professionals work at the intersection of health care, social services, employer and community settings. While their job titles, responsibilities and work environments may differ, advocacy is a central part of their role.
They help people:
- Navigate complex systems
- Identify services, benefits and support
- Access needed resources
- Understand available options
- Coordinate care and services
- Collaboratively achieve better outcomes
Through this work, client advocacy professionals help individuals make sense of complex health care, social service, regulatory and legal systems while ensuring the people they serve feel supported during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
A shared foundation of professional standards
To The Commission, the term client advocacy professional refers to more than a collection of job titles. It reflects a broad professional community connected by core professional and ethical standards. Client advocacy professionals build and maintain trusting relationships while advocating for client needs through shared decision-making, collaboration and coordination on the client's behalf.
In their respective roles, these professionals promote client privacy, confidentiality, health and safety through advocacy, client engagement and practice informed by applicable ethical, legal, accreditation, certification and regulatory standards and guidelines.
Why The Commission is using this term
The workforce The Commission serves continues to evolve. Responsibilities are expanding across settings and job titles. Technology is enabling new ways of working while changing roles and expectations. Value-based models are reshaping how services are paid for and delivered. Employers and governments increasingly need professionals who are nimble, able to implement technology and prepared to respond to change. The term client advocacy professional better reflects this changing workforce.
Rather than focusing on a single job title or job function, The Commission recognizes the multiple roles and functions performed by professionals who coordinate client care, navigate systems, connect individuals with support and advocate for better outcomes across settings.