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

Abstract

Case management literature was examined 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 [both the mentally ill and the mentally retarded]. 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. 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.