Case Management, in a nut shell.

It is about time for some personal reflections on here... I keep wanting to write but then fear breaching confidentiality. I feel, as I near my one-year mark of having my social work license and the three year mark of being in the social service field through internships and work, that I have a collection of learnings that are no longer specific to the individual clients and families I work with and instead, my practice as a whole and the experience I have gained as a social worker.

How better to start detailing the day to day challenges and rewards of my job than to describe what my job as a case manger is, in a nut shell:


My job entails working with disabled individuals of all ages, whether you are five years old or 95 years old, in the Twin Cities area. The disabilities I encounter every day range from severe mental illness to developmental disabilities to mobility to complex health conditions, and sometimes, a mixture of all of the above.

I work as a case manager for their home and community based waiverd services which are paid through Medicaid; setting up PCAs, skilled nurse visits, arranging transportation, authorizing meals on wheels, groups homes, etc... Basically, any disabled individual in MN who is on Medical Assistance is eligible to apply for a waiver to receive services through the county. These waiveres include the Community Alternative for Disabled Individuals (CADI), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Developmental Disabilitis (DD) waiver.

In coordinating these services I work with a variety of other service providers, caregivers and practioners to make sure that their health and safety needs are met so that my clients can stay out of the nursing home and in the community.

In a nut shell: it is a constant barrage of problem solving, support planning and trying to meet the needs of clients. There is nothing better than setting up services that make a difference in client's lives, and there is nothing worse than realizing that the services available are not nearly enough to impact the individual as you would like.



Now that I have my background here, I hope, in the following weeks and months, to post some of my experiences with clients as a whole. I would love to feature other social workers and theri jobs and reflections too, so please contact me if you would like to share your own thoughts.