Bshs 402 Final Exam

Final Exam Please use the Initial List of Case Management Functions located in the Appendix of your Rothman & Sager text on page 289 as well as chapter 2. Use the vignette below to provide Case Management services to this particular client. Please follow all of the steps in the Case Management functions to best serve your client. Please do not number each of the functions in question/answer form, but answer in essay format using APA standards. You will not earn credit unless each of the steps is clearly identified; you may use headings, italicized identification throughout the paragraph with each of the steps, etc.The final exam is due Week 5 Day 7. Please submit to the assignments section on your student website. Your paper should be at least 3-5 pages double spaced. Jack is a single father of two children. He has recently lost his job which is creating difficulties taking care of his family. He is on the verge of having his electricity and water cut off to his house. He is also str uggling to pay his mortgage. He is on his last $50 and still has to feed his family for the week. He has not had much luck on his own finding services to help him in this time of crisis.Recently, his two children have had difficulties in school acting out and not completing their school work. Jack is becoming frustrated and feels hopeless given his current situation. He comes to you looking for help. What do you do? Client Identification and Outreach In order to help Jack return stability into his life and that of his children we need to follow a schematic model of intervention as discussed in Chapter 2 of our text. The first step in implementing the case management process is Client Identification and Outreach.According to Rothman (1998), â€Å"the flow of clients into the organization can come through referrals of various kinds (agencies, families, community organizations, clergy, police, schools, self-referral, etc. )†. Therefore the agency must make itself available to re ceive clientele as they approach the system. Jack has contacted our agency through self-referral. Now we must set up an interview to find out more about Jack and his family. This will be accomplished through an intake interview. Intake, Assessment and Setting GoalsAn intake interview will take place during the first appointment in a formal setting such as the agency office where various administrative forms will be filed. Intake will include identifying Jack’s problem and situation. Also, it will be determined if there is an appropriate agency-client match. Eligibility will be examined and the financial situation appraised. The client will be given information about agency services, requirements, and limitations. At this time we hope to find out more details about Jack’s struggles and needs as well as some personal/family background information.Psychosocial Assessment The next step would be assessing the level of the client’s social, psychological, and physical functioning. This is a rather involved step in the process because not only does the information come from the client but other sources such as family, previous agencies, work place etc. In Jack’s case he will be the main contributor to his background information. During the assessment process we find out that Jack was laid off because the company downsized to be able to compete in today’s tough market.Jack was a computer analyst. The financial burden has become unbearable and added stress to Jack’s family life. Recently he vented out his frustration on his two children, and now regrets it. With bills piling up, grocery dwindling away, and his children’s poor academic performance jack finds himself in despair and in need of outside assistance. At this time it’s been determined that Jack has suffered an emotional breakdown because of high stress and on the verge of developing mild depression.His psychological needs should be addressed simultaneously while helping Jack get back on his feet and provide basic needs for his family. Jack has many friends but he is too proud to ask them for financial help. Goal Setting Now we are able to set up concrete goals with Jack because we have covered all necessary background information and determined what his needs are. First we must prioritize. Jack needs food for his family and to keep the household utilities fully functioning so that his children may continue leading a healthy daily routine.In order to maintain Jack’s psychological health a counselor from the agency will work with Jack on gaining emotional stability and dealing with daily stressors. It will take time to find Jack gainful employment; in the meantime the case manager will help him apply for unemployment. Also refer him to a local food bank for food. Throughout the goal setting process client’s input is crucial and a must to make sure all their needs are being addressed and the client’s wishes are hear d and considered.The short term goals would be Jack’s psychological stability, food for his family, and maintaining full functioning of the household. Long term goals would be finding Jack full time employment and possibly learning new job skills. Another goal is to boost his children’s academic performance. Resource Identification and Intervention Planning Now we are ready to start implementing our intervention plan. An intervention plan is obviously enhanced through use of available service resources.For the purpose of our client Jack the resources we need have already been established. Now the case manager must locate these resources by looking in to the information that’s already available from previous cases or researching new resources through available networks. It’s also helpful to connect with other agencies or individuals and request needed information. It’s important to include the client in resource identification process by asking abou t places they turn to for help and what has been useful to them, additional resources surface, some off-the-beaten-track.By doing this a case manager can find out a lot of useful information about agencies such as availability of resources, eligibility of clients, reliability and quality of services. Now we are ready for the next step. Intervention planning encompasses both treatment planning, in the sense of therapy and counseling, and service planning, which involves the linking of clients to external agencies and informal networks for more varied and comprehensive assistance.The client’s personal rights, needs, and goals are considered in their interrelatedness with the external realities of physical space, social supports, family structure, and the community’s social and political climate. The intervention plan for Jack is simple, receive counseling and apply for unemployment, go to the local food bank. The counselor might recommend other services for Jack if she d etermines there is a deeper issue that cannot be resolved without the help of a therapist. Jack’s children should participate on a few counseling sessions so that a healthy family tmosphere can be established at home. A counselor might suggest Jack take a parenting class to build positive relationships with his children. The steps must be clearly defined and written out preferably in a contract. Linking Jack to the services and supports I have already identified will be our next step in the intervention plan. The case manager may assist these clients in acquiring job interviewing and job searching skills. A social service agency can assist with perplexities about housing, job training, or family disruption.Professional linking does not consist of simply suggesting a referral. It also means making a good hook-up, including doing whatever is necessary to ensure that the client actually receives the needed aid. The case manager will connect Jack and his family with each agency a nd perform a follow up to make sure Jack has received the help and services he needed. This process calls for a wealth of knowledge about the community human services system: accurate, up-to-date information on policies, programs and procedures; contingencies and â€Å"loopholes†; and the costs and benefits of different options.Monitoring, Reassessment, and Outcome Evaluation Monitoring is following up on a client intervention plan to make sure it is carried out and that it brings about the helpful results that were intended. In monitoring, the practitioner sees to it that the agencies accepting clients actually provide the needed services, that aid from family or friends is forthcoming, and that the client carries out tasks that were agreed upon. It also is a means of tracking the practitioner’s own intended performance.In our case with Jack the case manager will place weekly phone calls and set up appointments every two weeks in order to measure client progress. If n eeded the check in sessions can become more frequent or less frequent depending on how well the client is doing. Monitoring is closely tied with reassessment because looking at a process in action automatically provides feedback about how the process is playing out and with what consequences. During reassessment it should be determined if the original intervention plan is working or if some goals need to be changed or adjusted depending on how well the plan has worked.Again it’s very important to utilize client input during monitoring and reassessment to determine success or failure of the plan and if any changes or adjustments are necessary. Finally, if the plan has worked and Jack is happily functioning in all areas of his life such as family, work and social circles, then the implemented intervention was successful. If not then the plan must be revised and new goals set up addressing areas of previous failure. All the while the case manager must give the client, Jack, empo werment to take charge of his life and never give up.The monitoring should come to a minimum at this point so the client does not come depend and rely on the case manager. However not all contact must be severed an occasional phone call or an appointment must be made to let the client know that the door is always open when he needs guidance or assistance. References Rothman, J. (1998). Case Management: Integrating Individual and Community Practice (2nd ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection.