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Case closure

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Nicole Brown
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Case closure

What is the general practice being followed in addressing case closure and what are the case closure indicators?

This question was raised during the recent webinar on case management for group input.

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Natia Partskhaladze
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Utilizing case planning within the case management process supports the identification of key actions and agreed upon end goals of the case management process. Using the case plan as a sort of “road map” to help determine the way forward is an important part of the case management process and supports the case worker in working towards those goals. Cases should be closed once the agreed upon actions of the case have been completed and the caseworker and clients feel that the original situation which required case management has been addressed.

One example of how closure is being supported through the use of identified benchmarks for achieving the case plan is from Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Programming. Using the domains of healthy, safe, stable and schooled, there are identified benchmarks for each domain. These benchmarks represent measurable outcomes that together represent the end goal of OVC programming interventions. Because OVC programming is targeting children affected by HIV and AIDS, one of the benchmarks is “all children and caregivers in the household who have tested positive for HIV are on treatment and adhering to their treatment plan.”  Another example from the schooled category is “all children of school going age are enrolled, attending and progressing in school.”  These benchmarks were designed for a specific type of programming and a specific population of children and families. However, similar wellbeing indicators could be designed for other types of programming. For example, if the case management process is working with children with disabilities and fostering their access and utilization of a range of services, a potential benchmark or indicator could be “Children with disabilities are evaluated by health professionals and any health impacts of childhood disability are treated and/or managed.”

* This response was provided by the Alliance Case Management Interest Group sub-group co-chairs Kelley Bunkers and Severine Chevrel. 

 

Elayn Sammon
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Case closure is the last phase of child protection involvement with a child and family and is an active phase in itself, involving casework actions and tasks as well as administrative tasks. The decision to close a case can be made for a variety of reasons, including when the protective concerns have been addressed and sufficient safety can be provided by parents without support beyond that available from universal services, or with support from a community service or other service agency. The process for closing a case should be included in the standard operating procedures for case management and will usually involve the case worker, their supervisor and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.The Core Concepts and Principles of Effective Case Management: Approaches For The Social Service Workforce,  published on the GSSWA website provides short guidance on case closure, "The case plan should include a statement of what needs to be changed so that the case can be closed. A case is closed when all the goals jointly identified in the case plan have been met, they are no longer relevant or feasible, and new goals are not required. In some cases, the case might be referred to another service provider for services that the current provider does not offer. In some cases, a case might be closed due to attrition i.e., the client leaving the geographic area or the client no longer wanting to receive services or the death of a client. A closed case can be re-opened in the future if the child and/or family requires additional help and support. When that happens, a re-assessment in Step 4 will be required, followed by the other steps in the case management process."