By: Christian Ragland
January 23rd, 2023

According to the Commission for Case Manager Certification, case management is a dynamic process designed to improve client experiences and outcomes. This process comprises six distinct stages: assessment, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation.

Effective practice in all six stages is essential to maximize client success. If a client isn’t a good fit, effective practice can also ensure that the individual is referred to the proper resources as quickly as possible. Using consistent processes and data management systems throughout each of the six stages of case management will provide valuable data and insights that any organization can use to improve its program performance and impact.

In this article, I will discuss ways to standardize practice in the first three stages of case management (assessment, planning, and implementation) so that social workers have the information they need to maximize client success.

Extra reading: The 9 Essential Components of Case Management

Table of Contents:

1. Assessment
2. Planning
3. Implementation
4. Final Thoughts
5. Helpful Links

Assessment

You can’t take on every client or client population. This would be inefficient and could even cause harm to the people you’re trying to help. Before you take on a new case, you need to ask yourself: can we actually help in this situation? If the answer is no, you should refer the individual as quickly as possible so that they can get the help they need. Timeliness isn’t the only concern when it comes to a referral. You should also ensure the referral is appropriate (the best fit between the potential client and the referral partner).

One way to introduce standardization into the assessment process is to regularly update a list of referral partners and community resources. Updating your referral partner database at a standard interval (e.g. annually, bi-annually, or quarterly) can help improve the efficiency, accuracy, and impact of your referrals. The information you collect for each partner will vary. At the very least, we recommend tracking the following information in a referral partner database:

• Name of the organization
• Address
• Contact information for a main point of contact
• Names and brief descriptions of the services offered by the partner
• A description of the organization’s target client population
• Average wait times (if available)
• The referral process for that particular partner

Check in with your partners on a regular basis so that you maintain accurate information about the types of people they serve, the programs they offer, and how to best reach them. You’ll also want to ensure you are continually researching new potential partners and services. Keeping an up-to-date database is one of the best things you can do to indirectly help the people who may not be a good fit for your organization.

Another way to introduce standardization into the assessment phase of case management is to use data collection software to automate the client intake process. In-person meetings and conversations will always be necessary, especially when accounting for accessibility, but remote surveys can significantly expedite the data collection process. 

When choosing the right system for your needs, survey software can also help you improve the performance and impact of your programs and services. Some systems, like Clear Impact Compyle, allow you to analyze your survey results over time so that you can view the client journey from beginning to end. With Compyle, you can also aggregate survey results to see the overall impact you’re making. Finally, you can also use Compyle to maintain your referral partner database, as the system allows you to collect information about organizations and make referrals. 

Planning

Once you decide to move forward with a particular client, you must formulate a plan for your work. Along with the information you gathered during the assessment phase, you’ll need to gather more detailed information from the client. Data is vital during this phase, so be sure to be thorough. Specific documentation you’ll want to gather and store in each client file could include (but isn’t limited to):

• Records from previous case worker care
• Medical records
• Legal information

After gathering all the data you need for the client’s file, you can begin to make a plan for your work. Your plan should include both long-term and short-term goals and have measurable goals for different areas worked into a timeline. Your plan should also consider the client’s cultural background, values, and interests in order to ensure that the plan is appropriate for that individual. 

Again, keeping all of your work along with documentation and other data or information in one centralized software system will be important when standardizing the planning process. Keeping your notes, data, and documents on one tool will save you time, headaches, and confusion. 

Implementation

All of the work you’ve done in the first two steps is aimed at making sure you can make a more significant impact during the third stage: implementation. Implementation is the stage where you can finally begin to act on the plans you have made for a particular client, and this stage will be as successful as you have made it to be through your work thus far. 

In Social Work, the implementation stage requires ongoing support and guidance for your client. Even if you’ve done the first two steps to the best of your abilities, you will likely be unable to succeed without patience and genuine personal care for the communities you serve. With that in mind, just caring about your work will not be enough either. Keeping your data, records, and documentation as reliable tools during the entire process will lead to better results in the end for you and your clients.

So, how do you make sure that you’re actually making a difference? By continuing to track the progress of your work throughout the implementation of your plan. If all is going well, the results of your previous surveys and data on your clients will improve over the course of your work. Additionally, you should have set measurable goals during the planning process, and you need to see how well you’re doing to achieve those goals. 

If you did a good job of keeping your information up-to-date and accessible, this should be easy to implement. If you use this model, the implementation process can look like this: 

• Work on your plan
• Send surveys to your client 
• Gather information
• Add notes to your client’s page
• Track your progress with real data

Final Thoughts

Compyle makes tracking people, organizations, and program outcome data simple. Compyle’s custom form creation, survey distribution, email scheduling, analytics, and data transfer functionalities significantly reduce the administrative lift of data collection and management.

Organizations can collect virtually any type of data they want with Compyle, whether for case management, applications, intake forms, surveys, or other data collected via various software platforms or manual processes. 

Compyle use across partnerships and networks allows for improved data quality so that funders can easily access data for shared measures across organizations and ensure grantees submit data consistently.

Unlike our competitors, we price Compyle based on the number of Participant records an organization wants rather than the number of users. This pricing structure means an organization can get its whole team to use Compyle at no extra cost. For more information and a free private demo, visit our Compyle page here. 

Helpful Links:

• Learn more about the differences between Clear Impact Scorecard and Clear Impact Compyle (and how they work together)
• See how Comypyle works in real-time and works together with Clear Impact Scorecard in a private customized demo.
• See what changed in Compyle over the past year since this blog was published (and why it’s important).
• See how Compyle compares to some of our competitors in our vendor comparison.