NCJ Number
162824
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 59 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1995) Pages: 41-47
Date Published
1995
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Case management is crucial to addressing the problems and needs of offenders with multiple problems such as deficits in education and life skills, as well as mental health and drug abuse problems.
Abstract
Case management includes four related functions: needs assessment, referral, coordination, and brokerage. A correspondence must exist between assessed needs and types of available services, and services must be mobilized in response to assessed needs, even if this entails an expansion or modification or redeployment of the existing service spectrum. Coordination is necessary to ensure that services are not delivered in mutual disregard and isolation, one service at a time without supervision and support. Service brokerage is central to case management and involves the use of influence. Continuity of case management means passing on the client from one case manager to the other, preferably through seamless transitions. The issue of information sharing and confidentiality must be addressed during this process through compromise options such as retrospective interviews with the offender or sharing of data that do not violate confidentiality. Case management implies systemic planning and coordination over time, as well as systemic deployment of resources. Notes and 13 references