	Disaster Recovery Case Management Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

DRCM 7: Case Closing

Case closing is a planned, orderly process.

DRCM 7.01

Planning for case closing:

is a clearly defined process that includes assignment of staff responsibility;
begins at intake;
involves the worker, the individual, a parent or legal guardian, and others, as appropriate; and
addresses all disaster-related needs and possible reasons for case closing.

Interpretation: The disaster recovery goal(s) and scope of time-limited, disaster-related services and programs inform the timing of case closing.

DRCM 7.02

Upon case closing, the organization notifies any collaborating service providers, including the courts, as appropriate.

DRCM 7.03

When a person's third-party benefits or payments end, the organization determines its responsibility to provide services until appropriate arrangements are made and, if termination or withdrawal of service is probable due to non-payment, the organization works with the person or family to identify other service options.

Interpretation: The organization must determine on a case-by-case basis its responsibility to continue providing services to persons whose third-party benefits have ended and who are in critical situations.

NA The organization does not receive third-party benefits or payments for service.

DRCM 7.04

When an individual or family is asked to leave the program the organization makes every effort to link the individual or family with appropriate services.

DRCM 7.05

When a resource and time-limited program closes, resulting in termination of services, cases are closed and transferred to an appropriate provider.

DRCM 7.06

The organization transfers and closes a case when a transfer is requested by the client or when it is determined that transferring a case to another disaster case management organization is in the client’s best interest and the individual or family concur.

Interpretation: Reasons for case transfer may include transfer to an organization with specialized services and resources a client needs that can be accessed only by transfer to that organization, for example, the services and skills of bilingual staff, services for seniors, and services for persons with disabilities.

DRCM 7.07

An organization transferring and closing a case consults with the receiving organization prior to transfer to insure acceptance of the case and continuity of service.

DRCM 7.08

When the organization has a contract with a public authority that does not include aftercare planning or follow-up, the organization:

conducts a formal termination-of-service evaluation and assessment of unmet needs; and
informs the public body of the findings, in writing, as appropriate to the contract and with the permission of the person or his/her legal guardian.

NA The organization does not have a relevant contract with a public authority.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Individuals and families who receive Disaster Recovery Case Management Services access and use resources and support that build on their strengths and meet their service needs.

RELATED FILES


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CASE CLOSING A voluntary or involuntary process which occurs when an organization no longer assumes responsibility for providing services to a particular individual, group, or family. Also known as "termination" or "discharge."


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	INTAKE The client's entry point for services at which eligibility is assessed against established criteria and a preliminary evaluation of the presenting problem occurs.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES Individuals with physical or mental impairments that result in substantial functional limitations.


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION


	TERMINATION See CASE CLOSING


	CLIENT See service recipient.


	AFTERCARE Additional services provided beyond the period of primary care that offer continuity and supportive follow-up.


	EVALUATION The review and assessment of organizational operations, programs and services.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.