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This is the virtual client for the discussion that is due Wednesday 12/23/2020. The required resources and readings are below.
This vignette will describe a difficult situation that results when the agendas of different agencies conflict and present roadblocks to case managers.
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Georgia is your newest and most outspoken client. She is 60 years old and a self-professed product of the system due to an early history of traumas. As a young girl, Georgia was sexually abused by her father. In her teens, this sexual abuse was carried on by her brother, resulting in an abortion and a two-year psychiatric hospitalization. This time away from her family was described as a happy time by Georgia. Hospital auspices allowed her to finish high school, where she promptly decided to move away and attend college. Georgia went on to pursue her graduate degree, and her hard work and academic achievements earned her a position as a college professor. As Georgia excelled in the professional world, her personal life continued to silently crumble. Her past made her hesitant to initiate any form of intimate relationship with the opposite sex, making her attempts at dating fail after a few awkward dates. She tried to bury feelings of loneliness by consuming herself with work, but that gave way to binge drinking and inconsistent patterns in her diet. Georgias breakdowns became severe when students reported her as either showing up drunk or not at all for her classes. These breakdowns led to multiple hospitalizations, forcing the college to relieve Georgia from her position indefinitely.
You visit with Georgia at the group home where she has lived for the past year. She is not working and is living off Social Security benefits. She has no problem sharing her distrust of government agencies with you, giving detailed examples of how each one cares only about the best ways to help itself.
After talking with each of the agencies that affect Georgias case, you find that her perception of the situation is not too far off. Each agency admits that it is having trouble directing care for this woman. Social Security would like her to keep working so welfare payments do not have to be made. State rehabilitation services believe that past behaviors and a recent double diagnosis of depression and diabetes make her too incompetent to work. Employment services has had trouble placing her in a job because of her age and the fact that she is overqualified for most positions. Her doctor believes that Georgia should not even be thinking of work and should be focused more on controlling her aggressive behavior and taking her medications. As a case manager, your task is developing a service plan for Georgia. Think about her current needs and how you might coordinate services among multiple agencies.
Week 4: Finding Resources
Finding resources for clients is one of the major roles of case managers. To find the appropriate resources, case managers must understand their clients needs. How would you know what resources are appropriate? How might you begin to advocate or request services for your clients? How might you coordinate these services among multiple agencies in order to develop effective service plans for clients? By talking with clients and networking with other agencies, case managers can prepare to venture into the community to locate resources to address client needs.
This week, you examine ways to coordinate multiple services to meet clients critical needs. In addition, you create multiple letters of assistance for your virtual clients.
Objectives
By the end of this week, you will be able to:
Apply skills required to foster collaboration in case management
Analyze critical client needs
Formulate recommendations to address critical client needs
Evaluate local resources appropriate for client needs
Create letters of assistance
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Spindel, P. (2008).Chapter 5: Building individual and community competence and capacity. InCase management from an empowerment perspective:Guide for health and human service professionals(pp. 8994). Canada: Spindel & Associates.
Credit line: Spindel, P. (2008). Case Management from an Empowerment Perspective: Guide for Health and Human Service Professionals. Copyright 2008 by Spindel & Associates Inc. Reprinted by permission.
Fitch, D. (2004). Client-controlled case information: A general system theory perspective.Social Work,49(3), 497-505.
Moore, S. (1992). Case management and the integration of services: How service delivery systems shape case management.Social Work,37(5), 418-423.
Required Media
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012).Case management for persons in need.Baltimore, MD: Author.
Georgia’s Case
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012).Case management for persons in need.Baltimore, MD: Author.
Georgia’s Case
Click to access the Course Media transcript:Georgia’s Case transcript
Discussion: Fostering Collaboration Between Multiple Agencies
Proactive case managers advocate for clients using many forms of communication. Case managers may call agencies to establish contact. They may write e-mails to inquire about services. They may also make in-person visits to agencies. Case managers who establish open communication may find that their work with multiple agencies yields positive outcomes for their clients and aids in establishing effective service plans.
Case managers must develop strategies to communicate their clients needs to various agencies. Case managers can do this by advocating on behalf of their clients. This involves representing their clients situations in a manner that is sufficiently compelling to encourage multiple agencies to become involved and actively collaborate.
For this weeks Discussion, you explore ways in which case managers can foster collaboration among multiple agencies.
To Prepare for this Discussion:
Review Chapter 5 ofCase Management from an Empowerment Perspective: Guide for Health and Human Service Professionals. Consider the ideas about community and collaboration.
Review the article, Case Management and the Integration of Services: How Service Delivery Systems Shape Case Management. Focus on the mechanisms of case management described.
Review the media titledGeorgias Case.
Consider Georgias critical needs and what recommendations you might make as a case manager.
Think about how you might coordinate services to develop Georgias service plan.
With these thoughts in mind:
By Day 4
Post by Day 4a brief description of Georgias critical needs. Then provide three recommendations of appropriate services to meet those needs. Finally, explain how you might coordinate those services to develop an effective service plan for Georgia.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.
This is the instructions
below for the assignment that is due Saturday December 26, 2020.
Assignment: Writing Letters of Assistance
Once community resources and applicable agencies are found, a case manager must then request assistance in writing on behalf of their clients. To legally appeal for the help of community groups and agencies, many case managers choose to incorporate their clients into the letter-writing process. Case managers first discuss with clients their need for different services. They next request that clients sign a letter of release. This letter of release is a consent form for case managers to advocate and share information on behalf of clients. Case managers can then work alongside clients to craft letters of assistance that sensibly enlist the help of agencies. The aim of these letters is to introduce clients general needs and to establish a meeting to initiate the rendering of services.
When writing letters of assistance, case managers must be mindful not to disclose information without client consent. Per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), there are rules and ethical guidelines that surround the sharing of patient information. As a case manager, you must adhere to these rules when writing letters of assistance.
In this weeks Assignment, you draft letters of assistance for your virtual clients.
To Prepare for this Assignment:
Review Chapter 5 ofCase Management from an Empowerment Perspective: Guide for Health and Human Service Professionals. Focus on the description of assessing community assets.
Review the article, Client-Controlled Case Information: A General System Theory Perspective. Consider the impact of client involvement on the case management process.
Review the media titledVirtual Client Case Files. Consider your virtual clients needs and what types of agencies you recommend for services.
Think about the resources found within your community and consider which resources you might recommend for your virtual clients.
Think about how you might construct a letter requesting services on behalf of your virtual clients to these agencies in your community.
Review the
Sample Letter of Assistance
for guidance to help you compose your letters.
The Assignment: Five Letters
Write letters of assistance to the appropriate agencies requesting services on behalf of your virtual clients. (Note: For your group case study, you write one letter for each of the three virtual clients presented. You should have five letters total.)
Select a different agency for each virtual client.
By Day 7
Submit your Assignment byDay 7.
Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course.
CASE FILES
CharleneOldest of two and only daughter in the family, 16 years old. Intelligent and caring. Her recent patterns of cutting class to hang out with students known as the bad kids has caused her once-high GPA to plunge into the failing range. Teachers have noted that Charlene appears to be very distracted and socially disconnected when in class, traits that they had not previously seen with her before this year.
JasonOldest of three children, 27 years old. Likable yet self-destructive. Jason graduated from high school with a C average and has held down consistent yet marginal jobs since. Jason has lived in a small town just outside the city his whole life. Many in town attribute Jasons inconsistent patterns of behavior to the dissolution of his family during his late teens. Jason is the only one who chose to stay in town and has come to have a reputation for severe drug abuse around the holidays.
Your Clients:GROUP CASE
RobertYoungest of the family, 12 years old. Very smart but withdrawn. Tends to be antisocial and likes to hide in spots where he can remain unseen. He becomes angry when others show him kindness and is very resistant when adults try to talk to him.
AdamOldest of the family, 17 years old. Sweet and timid. He is aware of the dangers presented by his family dynamics. Has been hospitalized multiple times after attempting to commit suicide.
AbigailGrandmother, 62 years old. Kindhearted and hard working. She received custody of the boys about a year ago. She is trying to do the best she can despite multiple family hardships. She lives alone and has been divorced from her husband for more than 10 years with no contact since. She is open to outside help and is currently receiving financial assistance and counseling from the department of social services (DSS).
