Case Management in Social
Work
Case Work is Social Work
Technology related to incidents
(Problematic Situations Based
on Real-Life Facts) .
The term "case" in social work has been used since the
late 19th century to identify the difficult social situation
faced by an individual or a family that requires the
assistance of a professional social worker.
The concept of "cases" has given rise to another
term – "social case work."
At the beginning of the 20th century, professional
activities aimed at the adaptation of individuals and the
normalization of their interactions with other members of
society were referred to as "social case work.
This type of social work was called the case method, and
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the worker who used it was called a social case worker.
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The development of the "Casework" method is associated
with the name of Mary Ellen Richmond
Mary Richmond increased the public's awareness of the Charity
Organization Society and the philanthropic opportunities to
support social work. She was trained to be a "friendly visitor,"
which was the initial term for a caseworker. She visited the
homes of people in need and tried to help them improve their
life situation. She began to develop many ideas of how
casework could best be conducted to help those in need.
In 1909 she helped establish networks of social workers and a
method by which they did their work. This all started when she
became the director of the Charity Organizational Department
Her success and leadership at developing social work and
research encouraged many other organizations to continue
financial support and development of the practice of social
Richmond identified six sources of power that are available
work.
to clients and their social workers: sources within the
household, in the person of the client, in the neighborhood
and wider social networks, in civil agencies, in private and
public agencies.
Some books she published with her ideas: Friendly Visiting
among the Poor, Social Diagnosis and What is Social Case
Work.
All social case workers must have general
knowledge and they must value even the least
amount of time they have.
The case study method is defined as an in-depth study
of the event in order to reveal the causes of the event
and its driving factors.
In the field of social work, the "case study" method is
a method of active analysis of problematic events
(solving cases).
The main concepts used in social work are the
concepts of "event" and "analysis".
An event can be understood as a certain situation that
includes certain contradictions and is characterized by a
There are three main stages in the case method:
1. Diagnosis of the problem.
2. Diagnosing one or more problems and solving them.
3. Evaluation of the decisions made regarding the
solution of the problem and its results.
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Through this method, it is possible to achieve the formation of
the following skills:
• to investigate ways to effectively solve the incident;
• develop logical thinking: analyze, identify errors;
• to develop critical thinking by solving the cause of the
event;
• inculcate researcher skills;
• systematize information;
• draw conclusions and justify.
Events may differ depending on the objectives
of the study. From this point of view, events are
conventionally divided into three types:
• extreme or deviant case – means that a certain
case is used for research in a situation where internal
contradictions have reached a high point;
• critical case (critical case) - events that most or
least reflect the general problem and thus are
considered to be of strategic importance in relation to
the problem;
The process of resolving cases is as follows:
First stage – familiarization with the incident and its
characteristics;
Second stage – identification of the main problem(s),
and determining factors and individuals with real
influence;
Third stage – proposing concepts or topics for
"brainstorming";
Fourth stage – analysis of the potential outcomes of
the decisions made;
To analyze the family's story, a social work specialist should follow the
sequence below:
• Familiarization with life materials (information about the family),
gathering additional information about the characteristics, forms, and
phenomena of family processes that are of interest to the social service
organization;
• Building hypothesis about the internal mechanisms and causes of the
family's abnormal development based on the summary of all available
information about the family;
• Ensuring the necessary conditions for verifying the proposed
hypotheses (establishing interpersonal relationships with the client
during the process of having confidential and open (sincere)
discussions about socially disapproved aspects of life);
• Creating a unified social-psychological model, where the results
obtained during the hypothesis verification process are summarized
(specific aspects and mechanisms of the pathological development of
the studied family);
Social workers are trained to provide a range of
services to their clients. They may provide
direct service, such as counseling or therapy, or
indirect service, such as community outreach or
policy advocacy. Social workers may also
specialize in a particular population or issue
area, such as child welfare or geriatrics.
A case manager may work in a variety of settings, such as hospitals,
community health centers, or social service agencies. On the other hand, case
managers typically have a more limited scope of practice. Their primary focus
is to connect clients with resources and services, and to provide guidance on
how to navigate the social service system.
Case management is an important tool in social work
because it helps ensure that clients receive the services they
need in a coordinated and efficient manner. Case
management is an evidence-based practice that involves
assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of
services to meet the specific needs of the client.
Documentation is essential to keep track of the
individual’s progress and ensure that all
stakeholders are up-to-date on the latest
information.
