Working with Clients: Case Management in Service Integration. Resource Brief.

The National Center for Children in Poverty has recently conducted research on case management in service integration projects, with the core information coming from 16 projects around the country from many service domains. Six programs specifically target very young children living in poverty, and six provide services to very young children regardless of their family income. Aspects of the case management process were studied, from finding the clients through implementing developed service plans to eventual disengagement. While the core functions of case management were routine, the types and needs of clients were extremely varied. Most clients came to these projects through referrals from other human service agencies. Rather than the linear notion of case management promoted in research and the academic literature, most projects followed a rather circular path, suggesting the need for flexibility by case managers. Projects intended to serve the whole family frequently focused on one member. Findings also showed that case managers do more than provide access to and navigation around the human service system in that they provide ongoing support. A final conclusion is that the mutual dependence of some case managers and clients could become counterproductive if taken too far. (Contains one table and three figures.) (SLD)