Case management is an essential component of the mission of Catholic Community Services and is the primary link with the children and families the agency serves. The agency provides support and services for children and families including In Home Safety and Non-Safety, a range of placements for children from traditional resource homes, specialized resource homes for children with special needs, including emotional/behavioral, autism, and medical, and residential programs. The children served are aged from birth to age 21.
Visitation
Case management provides services by visiting children monthly and at times weekly. Working with their families to reach established goals is key to the work of the case management teams. To support families, many visits occur at the agency when court ordered.
Reunification
The first priority in case management is to safely reunify children with parents and family. Reunification occurs when child/children in court-ordered placements are returned to their parents/family members To ensure safety and allow for permanency planning, case management attends Family Court and provides information on the progress of the family and agency in addressing court orders and progress on the Single Case Plan.
Permanency
Where reunification is not possible, the focus changes to adoption and Permanent Legal Custody (PLC). Case management has a specialized adoption unit to support the adoption process for those children.
Collaboration
Case management works collaboratively with the agency’s Prevention & Intervention Team to bring a full range of support to children. The case management teams also work with external supports, including the Nursing Department at DHS, Community Behavioral Health, the Central Referral Unit at DHS and private licensed agencies that provide out of home resources for children.
The case management department utilizes a team model. Each team is comprised of 4 to 5 case managers, a case manager supervisor and two support staff. Each family is assigned a case manager.
Aftercare Worker
- Work as part of the CUA Support Team toward achieving the objectives as established in the SCP.
- Work with families who have achieved safe case closure after receiving formal In-home child welfare or child protection services as directed by the Aftercare Plan.
- Work with families whose children and youth have been reunified and then achieved safe case closure as directed by the Aftercare Plan.
- Work with children, youth, and families who have achieved other permanency having particular knowledge of and proficiency around available SWAN services.
- Participate in Family Team Conferences when necessary, particularly if the purpose of the conference is determining safe case closure.
- Support the CUA CM in preparing Aftercare Plans.
- Document on forms prescribed by the CUA any activity they have performed within six business days.
Case Aides
- Work as part of the CUA Support Team at the direction of the CUA CM and Supervisor toward achieving the objectives as established in the SCP.
- Provide home, school, and community visits, and assist in accessing resources.
- Supervise visits when necessary and with the knowledge of what appropriate supervision is, the ability to intervene if children and youth are at risk, and to report back relevant details about the interactions.
- Assist with transport of the family to Court, Conferences, and other essential appointments.
- Participate in Family Team Conferences when necessary.
- Attend Court Hearings as needed but never in lieu of the CUA CM.
- Document in the appropriate section of ECMS any activity they have performed within six business days.
Outcomes Specialist
- Work as part of the CUA Support Team toward achieving the objectives as established in the Single Case Plan (SCP).
- Facilitate safe case closure for in-home service cases.
- Facilitate reunification or other permanency by:
- Assisting the CUA CM to focus on permanency opportunities.
- Tracking and managing the movement of cases through the permanency process.
- Assisting the CUA CM in preparing the children, youth, and families for reunification or other permanency.
- Supporting the CUA CM in preparation for Court.
- Supervise visits when necessary.
- Participate in Family Team Conferences when necessary.
- Attend Court Hearings as needed but never in lieu of the CUA CM.
- Document in the appropriate section of ECMS any activity they have performed within six business days.
Case Manager
- Conduct visits with children, youth, caregivers and others according to the frequency established in the Practice Guidelines.
- Development of youth-centered Single Case Plan [SCP] using an accepted treatment planning model. In conjunction with DHS, review and revise SCP according to established schedule or as needed.
- Responsible for day-to-day management and implementation of the SCP and its related activities.
- Complete timely Structured Progress Notes for all home visits and face to face contacts and other documentation timely and in accordance with the DHS CUA Practice Guidelines.
- Prepare for and actively participate, as required, in all meetings and conferences.
- Work cooperatively and collaboratively with other members of the CUA Support Team and DHS and Juvenile Probation staff as indicated. Communicate regularly and respond promptly to messages.
- Prepare for and testify at ARC court hearings as required. Ensure compliance with all court orders.
- Monitor all behavioral health services provided to children, youth, and families on caseload.
- Identify behavioral health interventions and incorporate, as needed, into Safety Plan and/or Single Case Plan.
- Ensure that all case management functions and activities surrounding supporting children, youth, and families including but not limited to applicable Practice Guidelines and Performance Standards are documented in the Electronic Case Management System (ECMS) either as a Contact Log entry or a Structured Progress Note.
Case Manager Supervisor
- Supervise all aspects of the work of Case Managers, Outcome Specialist, and Case Aides.
- Perform bi-weekly administrative and clinical supervision of Case Managers . Assure appropriate visitation communications with clients take place in accordance with State Regulations.
- Assure that Comprehensive Treatment Plans and ISP’s meet professional standards; and are written/updated within assigned time frames.
- Assure that social services provided for CCS clients meets professional standards and reflect social service process and procedure.
- Assure all cases utilize Strengthening Families framework in the performance of duties.
- Complete all paperwork and other documentation in a timely manner and in accordance with the DHS CUA Practice Guidelines.
- Ensure compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and bulletins issued by the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) Office of Children Youth and Families. Abide by the Social Work Code of Ethics.
- Prepare for and actively participate, as required, in all meetings and conferences.
- Work cooperatively and collaboratively with other members of the CUA Support Team and DHS and Juvenile Probation staff as indicated. Communicate regularly and respond promptly to messages.
Case Manager Director
- Ensure that bi-weekly administrative and clinical supervision of Case Managers and Case Manager Supervisors occurs.
- Assure that social services provided for CCS clients meet professional standards and reflect social service process and procedure.
- Assure that Comprehensive Treatment Plans and ISP’s meet professional standards; and are written/updated within assigned time frames.
- Take a leadership role in supporting and directing agency efforts to prioritize and process youth into appropriate services.
- Assure that supervision of Case Managers occurs and is documented, that new staff receive orientation, and that annual evaluations are completed.
- Utilize Strengthening Families framework in the performance of duties.
- Complete all paperwork and other documentation in a timely manner and in accordance with the DHS CUA Practice Guidelines.
- Maintain compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and bulletins issued by the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) Office of Children Youth and Families. Abide by the Social Work Code of Ethics.
- Work cooperatively and collaboratively with other members of the CUA Support Team and DHS and Juvenile Probation staff as indicated. Communicate regularly and respond promptly to messages.
“The most positive days in case management work are when a child is reunified with the family or is adopted into a permanent home.”
Bob Dutton, Case Manager Director
Key terms
Kinship
Refers to an extended family relationship or, more broadly, an adult that the child knows who can provide a safe living arrangement for the child.
Family Teaming Conference
A meeting to discuss and outline the goals and objectives for the family and agency to be in the Single Case Plan is held when the family is opened with CUA and they every 6 months.
Supervised Visits
Court-ordered parent/guardian and child/children visits that require a CCS staff to supervise the visit. These visits occur at the agency. At times the court allows family members to supervise the visits.
Family Court
Family Court is located at 1500 Arch Street. Family court provides legal oversight of families are court committed to the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS).
Single Case Plan (SCP)
A document developed with the parent(s), the case manager, and other system professionals or family members. The SCP outlines the goals and objectives to provide the child reunification or other permanency option, the most common being adoption
Dispute Resolution Officer (DRO)
A court order from Family Court that outlines the tasks needed to be addressed to have a child reunified with family or to close a case under the supervision of the court.
Attorneys
There are several attorneys assigned to each family that is monitored by Family Court: 1) child/children have a Child Advocate, 2) both parents are assigned separate attorneys, and 3) DHS has an attorney called the Assistant City Solicitor (ACS).
Catholic Community Services (CUA4) 