Origins
As US psychiatric hospitals deinstitutionalised in the 1970s and 1980s, people returning to the community had to navigate scattered services alone. Fragmentation, duplication and rising costs led to case management, in which one worker bundles services around the client.
Principles
Continuity, comprehensiveness, accessibility, individualisation, self-determination and empowerment are central, and both formal services and informal supports such as family and neighbours are used.
Process
- Outreach and intake: identify clients and check eligibility
- Assessment: needs, strengths, resources and barriers
- Planning: goals and service links agreed with the client
- Intervention and linkage: direct help and referrals
- Monitoring: whether services are delivered and needs have changed
- Reassessment, evaluation and closure
Roles
Case managers act as broker, advocate, coordinator, counsellor and resource developer.
Korea
Since 2012, Hope Welfare Support Teams in local governments run public integrated case management with community welfare teams, social welfare centres and local social security councils. Heavy caseloads and output-driven management are common criticisms.
References
- Rothman, J. (1991). A model of case management: Toward empirically based practice. Social Work, 36(6), 520-528.
- Moxley, D. P. (1989). The Practice of Case Management. Sage.
- Frankel, A. J., & Gelman, S. R. (2016). Case Management: An Introduction to Concepts and Skills (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
- 보건복지부. (2024). 『통합사례관리 사업안내』. 보건복지부.