Case Management

Model of Social Work

Practice
 Social work clients often have
complex, multiple needs. These
can range from providing food
and transportation to
psychological counseling and
home care or shelter.
 Social workers who specialize in
assessing these needs, helping
clients and their families access
needed services, and coordinating
care among multiple service
providers are known as social
work case managers.
 Webster dictionary’s definition
 The word “manage” means “to have
charge of; direct; conduct;
administer; control movement,” and
so, management is “the act or
manner of handling, controlling,
directing, etc.”
 What is social work case
management
 In the context of social work, case
management is a way of delivering
services where a social worker assumes
responsibility for assessing with a client
what services he needs, and helps obtain
those services for the client. (Thelma Lee-
Mendoza)
 What is social work case management
 More precisely, D.P. Moxley defines it as
a service delivery system that:
 “organizes, coordinates, and sustains a
network of formal and informal supports
and activities designed to optimize the
functioning and well-being of people
with multiple needs.”
 What is social work case management
 Through these activities the case
manager seeks to accomplish the
following goals:
 1. to promote when possible the
skills of the client in accessing and
utilizing these supports and services.
 What is social work case management
 2. to develop the capacity of social
networks and relevant human service
providers in promoting the functioning
and well-being of the client, and
 3. to promote service effectiveness while
attempting to have services and supports
delivered in the most effective manner
possible.
 Formal and informal supports in case mgt.
 Formal support is provided by formally
organized agencies and organizations
which are paid to provide services, while
 Informal supports are provided by
family members, friends, neighbors, co-
workers, etc. with whom the client
interacts in the course of everyday life.
 Formal and informal supports in case mgt.
 Formal social support comes
from what is termed as “social
support system”, whereas
 Informal social support comes
from the person’s “social support
network.”
 What is social work case
management
 The NASW defines social work case
management as a method of service
delivery in which a qualified case
manager conducts assessments of
clients and their families.
 What is social work case
management
 Based on the needs identified in an
assessment, a case manager then
arranges, coordinates and monitors
multiple services from different
providers to serve client needs.
 What is social work case
management
 These providers can include national and
local social service agencies and
nonprofit organizations.
 Social work case management addresses
not only the psychological and social
needs of clients, but also the condition of
the social service system in which case
managers operate.
 What is social work case
management
 It involves the social worker in varied
activities, like linking, mediating,
networking, coordinating, etc. in order
to help bring abut a resolution of a
client’s problem(s).
 What is social work case
management
 Because social workers work in
diverse settings, including schools,
health care systems, national and
local government agencies, and
nonprofit agencies, case management
varies in practice.
 What is social work case management
 For example, social work case managers
in Child Care Agencies access
educational and psychological services
for children and their families, while case
managers who work with the elderly may
arrange and coordinate medical, financial
and at-home services, such as Free Meals
or, in the case of terminally ill clients,
hospital and home care.
 The Difference Between a Social
Worker and a Case Manager
 In the U.S., Canada, England, and in other
first world countries, a person who works as a
case manager is a social or human services
worker given a leadership position over other
social workers and tasked with coordinating
and organizing the caseloads of each
individual social worker.
 Social Worker Duties
 Many social workers are government
employees, tasked with investigating
and maintaining contact with
families and individuals who are
experiencing difficulty and may need
government intervention.
 Social Worker Duties
 A social worker who does not hold a
case management designation is not
tasked with the same management
and coordination duties as the case
manager.
 Social Worker Duties
 For example, the social worker maintains
regular contact with the client, attends
court proceedings and makes court
recommendations.
 Or, social workers work with elderly
patients without family, homeless
individuals and those facing substance
abuse or mental illness.
 Case Manager Duties
 In most cases, the case manager reviews
the case initially and assigns the client to
an appropriate social worker. The case
manager periodically reviews the case
progress and requires the social worker to
report all occurrences pertaining to the
client.
 Case Manager and Social
Worker Duties
 As the case manager determines the best
services for the client, it is the social
worker's job to implement the case plan
and work to meet the goals laid out for
the client.
 Ex.: Field of Health Care
 The health care realm defines the roles of case
manager and social worker differently.
 In a hospital setting, the case manager is
tasked with coordinating the patient's
insurance coverage, follow-up rehabilitation,
hospice care, prescriptions and any other
components of the patient's recovery.
 Ex.: Field of Health Care
 The social worker in a medical setting is
responsible for offering counseling and
support for the patient and his family during
the recovery and discharge process. The social
worker makes certain the patient has access to
community resources, if necessary, but does
not have a role in speaking with health
insurance providers or other practitioners.
 The Situation in the Philippines
 The situation of multi-problem clients almost
always calls for a variety of services that may or
may not be provided by the social worker’s agency.
 Usually, therefore, the social worker assumes the
role of case manager, coordinating the work of
other service deliverers, facilitating communication
among them, thus, enabling them to work together.
 The Situation in the Philippines
 All the service providers comprise a case
management system, which means that
“a case manager of a case management
team assumes total responsibility and is
accountable for the well-being of the
client while avoiding doing for the client
that which the client is capable of.”
 Major functions of Case
Management:
 1. Assessment - this involves critical
scrutiny of the client’s situation in order
to understand the nature of the difficulty
with increasing detail and accuracy. The
client’s fullest participation is essential
here, including his strengths that have
enabled him to manage thus far.
 Major functions of Case Management:
 2. Service Planning - The case manager and
the client develop a Case Plan. They set a
goal that is realistic, specific, and measurable.
They have to agree on a time-frame for the
achievement of this goal. The case manager
will engage all involved parties in the
development of the Case Plan, including the
formal and informal sources of support.
 Major functions of Case Management:
 3. Implementation of the Case Plan – the
network of needed services is mobilized on
behalf of the client. The manager works with
the client by linking, coordinating,
negotiating, and mediating services. The
delivery of services is monitored based on the
Case Plan, which is modified if necessary.
 Major functions of Case Management:
 4. Evaluation - it is done with the client to
find out if the services agreed on were
effective in solving his problem.
 5. Termination - The helping relationship is
terminated following evaluation. The client is
informed of the conditions under which he
may be accepted again for agency help.
 Major functions of Case Management:
 6. Follow-up - This is done to ensure
that the gains that have been achieved are
maintained and that no new problems
have emerged.
 Q: Should the case manager limit her
work to coordinating and expediting
service delivery or should she also
perform direct therapeutic functions?
 Major functions of Case Management:
 In the Philippines, case managers have no
choice but to also provide direct service,
which means performing, when
necessary, any of the social work roles,
such as resource provider, mediator,
social broker, enabler,
counselor/therapist, and advocate.
 Major functions of Case Management:
 Finally, an important indispensable task
for a case manager/social worker is
REFERRAL.
 Referral - is the act of directing a client
to another worker/ agency or
organization because the service needed
by the client is not offered by the
worker’s agency.
 Major functions of Case Management:
 A referral, however, is not just a matter of
informing the client what agency offers
the service he needs and where to find it.
 An affective referral demands that the
worker does her best so that the act
culminates in service delivery to the
client.
 4 aspects of effective referrals:
 1. Information about resources.
 The worker should have a good knowledge of what
resources and services are available, including
where they are located, who provides them
(auspices or sponsors), and who may avail of them
(service eligibility criteria).
 This knowledge should always be updated.
 The worker should know the key persons in the
agency and cultivate professional relationships in
the interest of the client.
 4 aspects of effective referrals:
 2. Preparing the client.
 This means discussing with the client what the
referral will involve and what the referral
agency expects, to enable the client to make
effective use of the referral agency.
 Also includes explaining the agency’s policies
and rules, clarifying the client’s questions,
giving instructions or tips, name of contact
persons, etc.
 4 aspects of effective referrals:
 3. Preparing the referral agency.
 This involves sharing information about the
client with his consent. A telephone
conversation, and, if necessary, a meeting
with attendant staff, are part of the preparation
of the referral agency.
 The worker has to prepare a referral summary
on the client (who should also receive a copy).
 4 aspects of effective referrals:
 4. Follow-up.
 This provides the worker with an
opportunity to review whether the
client is receiving the expected
services and is moving towards the
objectives.
 Important Note
 There is no other professional helping
person in our society better equipped
or in a more strategic position to do
case management than the social
worker.
The End