The Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) had its beginnings in a July 1990 case management conference and a survey conducted to determine interest and attitudes towards certification. As a result of the survey, a National Task Force on Case Management convened in Dallas on March 27, 1991. Notes from the meeting reference formation of a Steering Committee made up of 30 professionals representing 29 healthcare industry stakeholders. The organizers envisioned the establishment of an entry-level type certification that would demonstrate basic education, experience, and competence, evidenced by an examination.
A paramount concern was the varied training and background of people who called themselves case managers; incompetent practice could damage the emerging profession and endanger the well-being of patients. The idea was put forward that case management professionals themselves, rather than a regulatory authority, should oversee the credentialing process. As a result of the Dallas meeting, the task force set to work to research and develop what would become the first CCM® examination.
The work to develop case management certification included a number of milestones:
- Clarification of the case manager role and development of a draft definition of case management (August 23, 1991, Steering Committee Report)
- Finalization of case management definition and name of the credential: the Certified Case Manager (CCM) (July 3, 1992, letter to National Task Force)
- A 1992 bid to develop the certification process, won by the Certified Insurance Rehabilitation Specialists, (now the Certified Disability Management Specialists)
- Development of certification eligibility guidelines, the role and function study, and the examination process
- Formation of an interim commission to oversee the certification process.
- Refinement of the eligibility criteria for the Certified Case Manager (CCM®) credential
- Development and field testing of an examination in 1993
In 1993, CCMC offered its first credentialing exam. Some 12,000 case managers sought the CCM in its first year, well beyond the 1,000 or so applicants expected.
Other recent milestones:
- March 2011: CCMC Launches the CMLearning Network® with its first webinar, “Health Reform 101: What You Need to Know About the Patient Protection Act”
- April 2011: VA approves CCM as a reimbursed credential under the Post-9/11 GI Bill
- August 2011: CCMC Case Management Body of Knowledge® launched
- October 2012: CCM Exam Workshops launched
- March 2013: CCM eligibility expanded to include health and human services professionals holding a bachelor’s degree
- December 2014: Workforce Development Toolkit launched to support case manager employers
- January 2016: Inaugural CCMC's New World Symposium® is held in Las Vegas
- June 2016: National Association of Social Workers announces partnership with CCMC to endorse the CCM as the credential for health care social work case managers
- July 2016: Acquisition of CDMS credential
- June 2017: CCMC/CMSA announce a collaborative agreement to promote and support CCM certification and CMSA membership for professional case manager development.
- September 2022: The American Case Management Association (ACMA) and the Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) announce a unified definition of case management and the creation of a joint Advocacy Task Force.