A Guide to the Case Management Process: Steps and Strategies
If you have worked in case management for any length of time, you understand that knowing the steps of the process is only the beginning. What determines client outcomes is what happens in each stage: the judgment used at intake, the questions asked during assessment, the quality of the plan, the follow-through behind referrals, the […]
Assessments: A Guide for Case Managers on How to Conduct Them Effectively
Assessment in social work is one of the most consequential stages in case management because it shapes every decision that follows. It’s where referral information, client disclosures, records, and observations begin to form a more complete picture of need, risk, capacity, and context. But in many agencies, that information is scattered across email threads and […]
Self-Determination in Social Work: Principles, Practice, and Application
Self-determination places decision-making power in the client’s hands to boost engagement and outcomes. This principle is much more than an academic concept — it’s foundational to ethical social work practices, directly shaping how practitioners engage with clients day to day. Self-determination social work is relevant to case managers, social workers, and human services practitioners across […]
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT): A Complete Guide for Case Managers
Some clients and patients with high risks and needs require 24/7 support to maintain their safety and help them readjust to their communities. In more serious cases, you can’t achieve such assistance in the hospital or another clinical setting. Assertive community treatment (ACT) allows case managers, multidisciplinary teams, human service agencies, and nonprofits to support […]
Social Impact Measurement: How to Track and Interpret Program Outcomes
Human services, nonprofit, and non-governmental organizations can affect their clients and communities in many expected and unexpected ways. Social impact measurement is an ongoing, structured process for tracking and interpreting change over time. Effective measurement and analysis helps you assess all of your organization’s social outcomes, outputs, and long-term impacts so you can continuously refine […]
Case Management Substance Abuse Strategies for Effective Treatment
Clients entering substance use and addiction treatment need specialized skills and strategies, such as persistence and continuous monitoring, to effectively support their recovery. Case management is the connective framework that holds substance abuse treatment together across intake, referral, treatment participation, and long-term recovery support. Learn the top case management substance abuse strategies for long-term client […]
What Strengths-Based Assessment Looks Like in Case Management
You know the theory: Focus on what clients bring, not what they lack. Build on strengths, not deficits. But when you’re sitting across from someone at intake with your assessment form open, the questions you ask matter more than theory. A strengths-based assessment (SBA) is the practical application of strength-focused principles. Your task is to […]
Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work: Using Research for Service Delivery
You already base decisions on what you assume will work. You draw on training, past cases, colleague advice, and instinct about what a particular client needs. That matters, but it’s incomplete when research exists that could strengthen your choices. Evidence-based practice (EBP) social work adds structure to the decisions you’re already making. You combine the […]
Service Coordination: How Case Managers Support Effective, Integrated Care
When a social services client has to work with several programs and service providers, progress often depends on what happens in the transition between appointments and sessions. This might mean making sure sensitive documents reach the correct people at the right time or following up on referrals to confirm next steps are scheduled. Service coordination […]
6 Ways to Improve Client Engagement in Case Management for Social Work
Engagement appears in the most minute details: the way you structure the first communication, articulate choices, record values, or react to changes in participation. In social worker case management, engagement is not just “nice to have.” It determines whether plans can be maintained over time, even through staff turnover and changing client needs. Here we […]