¶ … Management Case management involves the efforts of various workers to strategize, look for, facilitate and oversee the services that are offered in healthcare and other social services to those in need of them. It involves examining the services that are offered and coordinating them so that they can actually be able to meet the needs of the individual or the family involved. It seeks to ensure that the services offered and the resources that are used are of value and also low in terms of cost. The social worker in this instance will first evaluate what the individual and their family's needs are and then manage the process so that what is provided actually meets the needs identified (NASW, n.d.).

Use of Case Management

Case management is a procedure, which attempts to bring together the skills of various workers so that in combination, they can be able to offer services that are specific to the needs of the client. In this way, their services are more effective. It allows services to be brought together so that they are not fragmented, and thus ineffective. This also reduces the challenge of staff turnover as well as enabling better services offered. Case management also attempts to create a system where referrals can be made and where there is cohesion of services as far as the provision of social services and healthcare are concerned. This system helps to identify those who are providing specific services, the problems that they encounter and even the way in which the services that are available can be put together to meet the needs of each specific case. It tries to ensure that whatever the needs of the client, the services that are offered are tailored to meet these needs. This, in turn, meets the objective of retaining the client as well as keeping them in touch with those providing treatment so that the outcome of the treatments is desirable (NASW, n.d.).

How Case Management Can Be Useful as Part of Your Overall Treatment Plan

Case management brings a lot of improvement in clients in terms of reaching the goal of wellness as well as making the person independent. It does this through such activities as support, evaluation, strategizing, providing information, overseeing the provision of services and upholding standards. These services are given, depending on what benefits the client is entitled to under their health insurance. Case management tries to ensure that each person who is under treatment has an individual plan for their treatment, which is designed by the case manager who is assigned to the person. In this plan, supports are outlined according to what the person has selected, what they want from the support, the people in charge of the support and even how these supports are evaluated for achievement of the desired outcomes. Through case management, Independent Living Assessment is translated into the specific supports for the person involved. It is directed not just at the client, but also at the people around them so that all of them understand support, what it hopes to achieve as well as the specific person who to undertake each role. Case management also ensures that the plan designed is formulated in a way that the client can comprehend easily, so that they can use it effectively. In this way, the client can be participative in the plan and through it, grow their strong points (Cornel, 2007).

How the Case Management Will Be Useful to Help Clients in the Vignette?

The case that has been highlighted of Randy and Susan's family is one which requires shared case management to be applied. Shared case management requires that various professional workers come together to provide their services as a team to the client. The team that works this way has each worker providing services in the area of his/her specialization, but then sharing information with the rest of the team, so that the services are coordinated in a way that serve the client's needs the best way. The professionals working together also share the responsibility of addressing the specific needs of the individual. However, the specialist is still the one who shoulders the responsibility for the service that they actually provide to the client (Marsh, Dale & Willis, 2007). As a result, Randy and Susan's problems can be addressed specifically and in a coordinated manner. Where the abuse of substances is involved, case management is effective as an additional service to the person under treatment. Randy is clearly having a problem with his drinking. One...

It also strives to help with the other challenges that the person is facing in life; this always helps the individual's treatment of substance abuse. As a result, the person is treated as a whole rather than having fragmented services provided to them, which end up being ineffective. Where the treatment of substance abuse is wholesome, the person under treatment may be required to move to other care system levels and this can be successful through case management (Treatment, 1998).
The case states that the wife, Susan, has made a threat to leave her marriage. This can be a problem in the case management as far as case flow is concerned. Case management would require that specific services to be availed are provided with speed because of the improbability involved in this case. Thus, the planning for the diagnosis of the case and the provision of the services must be addressed with care. Where divorce is an element, more problems can be anticipated. Some of these problems may involve children, property, issue of substance abuse, emotional health problems, and the contesting of the divorce fully or mildly, among other issues. These issues may be separate or combined. Keiser (2010) states that case flows in the case of a divorce such as Susan's divorce threats, will require that various strategies be used. The emotional matters involved in this case must be identified. Time principles must be incorporated and adhered to. Where the individuals represent themselves, specific strategies need to be adopted and the case must be scheduled purposely and simply. Questions of custody of children, involvement of property, support and visitation must be addressed comprehensively (Keiser, 2010).

The service plan objectives must be prioritized in the services that are provided to Randy, as far as his abuse of drugs and alcohol are concerned. Case management will be appropriate for him because where substance abuse is involved there are always challenges in other areas of the individual's life. This is the case even where the individual experiencing the challenges does not abuse substances. However, just because there is advocacy, it does not guarantee that the client will achieve his/her desired goals. This is especially true for the people who depend on a substance whose continuation may result in jail time or loss of life. In such a case, the case management team may be forced to resolve to drastic measures, ensuring that the person stays on the treatment. This may even mean pushing for the person to be jailed so that they can be stabilized. Sometimes, the individual being treated may even want to be incarcerated during treatment. However, the case manager has to adhere to the limits that are provided. This may involve reporting of their client when they are evaluated and found to be still on drugs, especially when they are on probation. The same goes for when the client is under suspicion of having committed an offense. It is the responsibility of the case manager to not only care for their client, but also ensure the safety of the public. Other times, the case managers may find themselves on a collision course with their colleagues, especially where they are looking to have the benefits received by their client extended, thus drawing more resources than are recommended.

For Randy and Susan's case, there should be an assessment of their relationship. The progress of the client should be followed up so that where there is need, the services offered can be altered for the same. At the same time, the case manager must also be in a position to discuss the progress with others who are relevant to the case. A probation officer for a client must be kept abreast of the developments in their client's case. However, at all times, there must be an adherence to the requirement for confidentiality (Treatment, 1998).

How the Client could benefit from Each Referral You Orchestrated

It is common to find AOD clients with complicated requirements for their health and their welfare. In case management, the case manager must thus, after an evaluation of these needs of the client, provide a way for them to access the services that they need. Some needs relate to health such as when a substance abuser is dealing with withdrawal complications that need to be managed. Others relate to welfare such as those where…