Improving the Quality of Community Care for the Chronically Mentally Disabled: The Role of Case Management

An extensive case management literature is drawn upon in order to integrate a number of key concepts and findings that must be considered by those responsible for the planning, administration, and provision of effective community care to the chronically mentally disabled.

Abstract

This article draws upon an extensive case management literature in order to integrate a number of key concepts and findings that must be considered by those responsible for the planning, administration, and provision of effective community care to the chronically mentally disabled. A discussion of the reasons for the current popularity of the case management concept within human services is followed by a detailed presentation of the objectives, ideology, functions, and structural elements that characterize case management systems. A series of practical problems and issues that must be addressed to effectively implement a case management system are then identified and analyzed. Finally, a set of recommendations for those developing case management systems is offered, and a number of important unanswered research questions about the delivery and impact of case management services are identified.