- What are the critical issues including obstacles to and problems with engagement, intake, screening
and assessment for case management (or individualised funding)? - Identify thecritical issues including obstacles to andproblems with service planning and implementation
for case management (or individualised funding)
Goals, strengths, what has worked and what has not, formulating the plan with the client, what does the
client want and what do they actually access, impact of the lack of resources, the importance of effective
planning �flexibility, allowing for diversity, a range of sources, what is available intra and inter service
providers and clear thinking and sustained engagement.
- Outline thecritical issues including obstacles to and problems with termination, review, follow up and
evaluation for case management (or individualised funding).
Monitoring � checking in with clients, plan of action, working out what is working and what is not,
advocacy at the service and client level and evidence based research.
1.0 Introduction
Case management methods are widely employed in Australia as is often the case in other
countries. However, there exists a perspective of shared understanding when it comes to case
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management to the extent that a section of authors assert it veers away from the need for close
examination and analysis of case to formulate a better model and practice. In a real world, case
managers should be conversant with the needs of individuals such as mental illness, substance
abuse, chronic health issues, homelessness, illicit activities, parenting minors, and physical
impairment among others (Huber et al. 2003). For instance, a case manager should be in a
position to comprehend the client’s background in terms of accessible social services, monetary
and legal implications, and the clinical complication of the problem among others. While case
management is synonymous with assessment, planning, coordination, screening, and appraisal,
this paper looks at the critical issues including obstacles to and problems with engagement,
intake, screening, and assessment for case management.
2.0 Engagement
The case manager has the responsibility of providing services in non-conventional
techniques with the goal of reaching the customers rather as opposed to the customers seeking
assistance. While engagement seeks to t fulfill and identify customers’ immediate requirements,
the first phase is challenging (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Motivation can be fleeting
while accessibility to services is constrained.
These problems are evident in customers’ conduct including missed appointments,
continuous use, and unwillingness to change among others. During this stage, the objective of
case management is minimizing internal and external barriers, which hinder treatment. the
reluctance clients to receive treatment may be minimized in various ways including; motivation
techniques; basic knowledge on addiction; continuously reminding clients about the effects of
drug abuse; fulfill clients’ survival expectations; and dedication to creating mutual association
between the case manager and clients (Gursansky, Kennedy & Camilleri 2012).
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2.1 Effective Relationships
The parties involved in authorizing behavioral health can be requested to give their input
although customers’ persistence can be a major hindrance towards access to healthcare services.
Potential clients can be unfamiliar with treatment procedures, an issue that calls for the
development of effective associations between the case manager and the client (Gursansky,
Kennedy & Camilleri 2003). Nonetheless, the dilemma may exist between clinical experiences
presented by nurses and social workers. Their preferences with regards to treatment can be
irrational, and they know little about drug abuse, or addiction. Moreover, it is exceptional for
individuals during this phase to reduce the effects of drug abuse for the sake of their health.
3.0 Intake
This is the first meeting with clients that present case managers the opportunity to collect
information to tackle their needs while encouraging engagement and retention of the service
process (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012). This is the stage used to establish whether or not
a client needs have been met. Nonetheless, it is difficult for the case managers to adequately
determine the suitable strategy to fulfill client’s needs and examine their readiness to participate
in case management (Gursansky, Kennedy & Camilleri 2012). This process is characterized by
ethical dilemmas as case managers may choose an inappropriate approach.
3.1 Eligibility
The case manager has the prerequisite to screen the client’s problem substantively. At
this point, assessment would act as a reference point to determine the eligibility and detailed
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evaluation to be presented to guide the creation of an intervention plan. Prescreening for
eligibility and coordination to minimize any barriers can enhance accessibility. The procedure of
motivating clients starts with education, identification of important needs, and creation of mutual
relationship. This procedure can commence in the prescreening stage. Motivation facilitates
engagement using exploratory and not confrontational techniques. Nevertheless, it is essential to
understand that each client has his/her own needs in joining the treatment process.
For instance, if the client has communication needs, the goal may be to determine if a
child can exhibit deficits in communication/feeding development. On the other hand, in the
planning and implementation phase, the case manager in collaboration with a team of experts
designs an intervention plan that support services which involve techniques and settings
(Chappell 2012). The two roles aim at maximizing the clients’ ability to effectively reform while
increasing the family capacity to support the development of the client. However, screening is a
vital element of prevention. Creating family awareness through education is significant for
children as well as their respective families.
Much as education in assessment differ on the basis of the method used, informed
medical perspective of the case manager is crucial in establishing eligibility of the client.
Nonetheless, in the planning and implementation phase, support services are individualized for
every client and family; hence, facilitating different techniques and designs of intervention that
incorporate quality service delivery. In both roles, procedures and activities depict a given
family’s preferred method and degree of participation.
3.2 Outcomes
The greater part of investigative research with regards to case management lies in mental
health with less activity in human service. This helps to put more emphasis of various social
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issues. Efforts to analyse case management services have been hindered by a plethora of intricate
factors. Different and overlying models of case management, an elusive agreement of
definitions, and the ambiguity that surrounds the probability of fidelity of providers are some of
the problems affecting the efficacy of case management. The anomaly is further enhanced by the
documentation of unrelated outcome measures in studies that makes any effort comparisons
between various interpolations problematic.
Gursansky et al. (2012) assert that ascribing client or program results to a certain service-
delivery methodology can be problematic. A holistic service case is linked to better outcomes to
management, retention and acquiescence, reduced hospitalization, positive client contentment
and modest cut down in service costs. On the other hand, dealership models fail to retain clients
in management, enhanced hospitalization rates and operations expenses. While the two
approaches of case management have analogous impact when it comes to enhancing the
symptoms in terms of the levels of social wellbeing, emphatic community treatments is better off
than the clinical management approach in reducing admission to hospital.
Ultimately, case management leads to reduced criminal activities when it comes to
correction agencies. However, in terms of social work and mental wellness, the legitimacy of
case management methods in as far as correction is concerned appears scanty. There are
certainly consequences and challenges for apportioning resources in community corrections to
offer and ensure reliable levels of service. Even though the CCS makes recommendations to the
courts, the streaming of clients is unpredictable and largely managed by the judiciary.
3.4 Organisational Structure
Motivation transitions from clients’ non-recognition of the issue to understanding the
significance of treatment, determining necessary course of action, and maintaining the realized
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objectives (Gursansky, Kennedy & Camilleri 2012). Case management may employ this
structure in engaging with the client based on the phase-suitable services. This implies that a
client that failed to deal with drug abuse can be integrated into an intensive management process
by giving fundamental practical assistance. Such form of assistance is important in terms of
reducing the perceived desire to engage in drug abuse and the associated lifestyle. Structured
interviews present clients with opportunities to discuss their substance abuse and past history
with case managers while exploring the losses due to drug abuse. However, the previous history
of some clients may provide a trend of increased loss of independence.
4.0 Assessment
Treatment is dependent on the instruments that are largely valid and reliable when used
with two groups of clients from different cultural backgrounds. Whereas interpretation of some
tools for the population who’s English is not their first language have been realized, the accuracy
of the applied tools is not always recorded (Stanger et al. 2009). Under normal circumstances,
screening and assessment for women should be meticulous; hence, some women from different
cultural backgrounds find the procedure intimidating, unpleasant and foreign. In some
communities, issues of individual practices can be seen as superfluously intrusive (Gursansky,
Kennedy & Camilleri 2012). Majority of women do not have experience with Australian
medical care and hardly comprehend the assessment process. Others may develop negative
attitudes with healthcare providers or treatment schedules and create an impression of unfair
treatment. This may impede the assessment process. In this regard, screening and assessment
should be anchored on perceptions that put a lot of primacy on cultural significance (Coatsworth
et al. 2001).
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In most cases, there has been a miscomprehension of the client’s cultural basis in terms of
health beliefs, sickness behaviors, and outlook toward of treatment. This impacts the delivery of
quality services. Assessment is the first step of developing clients’ needs. In addition, it is an
essential phase of case management. It involves collecting all the client’s needs to develop the
case (Gursansky, Kennedy & Camilleri 2003). This may require collecting and analysis of
clients’ information. Moreover, assessment can be carried out with no direct contact with clients,
rather gathering useful historical data to help understand a client’s needs. As a result of the
complex nature of the assessment phase, case managers are required to be flexible so as to not
only identify, but also address developments while reviewing approaches and objectives as
needed (Padgett et al. 2011). Much as partnership standards present specific areas to be covered
in eligibility assessment, ethical dilemmas emerge because there are no requirements for separate
expectations of clients besides eligibility assessment.
4.1 Purpose of Assessment
Case assessment serves as the platform upon which to gather necessary information to
allow plan and provide appropriate intervention. Information collected from clients is critical in
determining baseline details, health levels, dangers of malfunction or strengths, and weaknesses
as far as the illness process is concerned. With regards to social issues, the case manager should
determine whether or not the client lives alone and does not want to bother other family
members, and whether financial issues make them worried about the future. As a result, the
community nurse should perform comprehensive home assessment (Gursansky, Kennedy &
Camilleri 2003). In addition, head to toe assessment and comprehensive health history
assessment should also be used on the client to discover further health information.
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Clinical assessments help case managers to intervene the situations of clients. Moreover,
it plays a vital role in determining the condition that the clients are in since medication is
recommended depending on the extent of the situation whether it is mild or severe (Willis et al.
2013).
4.3 Planning
Planning process entails concentrating on structural components of case management like
the occurrence and details of the problem, identifying measurable objectives, and required
services to address particular needs. Planning of the case is individualized with detailed
documents looking at various elements of clients’ wellbeing in accordance with useful and
factual data (Rapp et al. 2008). This is attained through intake interviews to determine baseline
demographic and analytical data to create the initial client plant.
However, impartiality and objectivity are more and more essential aspects that present
ethical issues to the case manager. For instance, a case manager working with institutions that
offer services may be required to include such services in their case management
recommendations, particularly when services are not suitable for policyholders. Consequently,
how the case manager opts to arrange and employ data gathered leads to the efficacy of the
program (Ingoldsby 2010). The use of technology can be used for tracking data and ensuring
interaction, planning and performance control of the respondents is upbeat.
While a case manager may adopt a particular methodology, it may be hectic to formulate
not just a clear process for determining the client expectations, but also for evaluating skills and
occurrences. The case manager works in conjunction with the client to create an Individual
Service Plan (ISP) that comprises of short term and long term objectives. When it comes to
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meeting client expectations, clients that have a broad network of service providers can offer their
help by creating plans aimed at curbing reoffending.
4.4 Intervention Linkages
By and large, organizations should be reliant on ensuring their ties with communities
remain as strong as ever (Sorensen et al. 2003). This is critical particularly in meeting the needs
of a wider scope of participants. Linkages with community stakeholders such as agencies and
religious institutions among others are pertinent as the economy shrinks and need for support
services blossoms. On the flip side, the diversity in the pragmatic application has culminated into
differences as far as case management in Australia is concerned. This makes the definition of
case management fluid, an aspect that culminates into the standardization of comprehending and
utilization (Johnson et al. 2013).Consequently, disparities in its usage have ended in the lack of
compelling evidence and consensus on the outcomes for service users especially in relation to its
longitudinal impacts. Gursansky & colleagues (2012) reiterate that substantial disparities are
evident in modern case management practice in Australia when it comes to the design,
application and practice of case management. The problem with lack of clarity is that providers
and recipients do not understand the rationale and processes of case management. The
differences in methodologies being implemented are often a catalyst for confusion in terms of
service delivery (Gursansky et al, 2012).
4.5 Interventions
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The assessments and interventions depend on the nature of the problem, age, and the
therapy that the clients may have received in the past. Case managers use scaffold to intervene
client situation which are later withdrawn slowly as the client responds to therapy (Gursansky,
Kennedy & Camilleri 2003). The purpose is to identify the cause of the problem, teach
compensatory strategies, or to modify the client’s issue. Intervention approaches consider long
term goals of the client, development of behavioral objectives, pretesting the client, and
administering tests to determine the condition of the client (Slesnick et al. 2008). Intervention
processes vary and depend on the case manager’s choice. The interventions can be structured or
naturalistic, but depend on severity of the problem. However, a combination of both strategies
can help in enhancing the client’s recovery process.
There are principles that guide the procedure of dealing with clients that have been
sourced for controlled trials (Gursansky, Kennedy & Camilleri 2003). These trials are associated
with the brain; thus, pathologists use these principles when dealing with clients. The aim of
intervention by case managers is to improve the client’s health condition. In any case, one-sided
details and objective data offer a clear understanding of clients’ opinion. For this reason, it is of
great importance to develop a good relationship between nurse and clients in order to ensure the
aspect of trust (Alexander & Robbins 2011). A good relationship between nurse and clients
increases harmony and the basis which allows clients to present accurate information. In other
words, nursing assessments can be valid and precise when the nurse obtains information which is
not one-sided.
5.0 Conclusion
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Based on what has been discussed therein above, it becomes evident that while clinical
knowledge may be significant to nurses, it may not necessarily be of significance to social
workers. In the same breadth, health and human service workers may hardly comprehend the
fact that they share same experiences. For instance, a case manager responsible for substance
abuse individuals is vulnerable to many risks and constraints.
References
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