7 Tips to Master Service Coordination

In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain. In today’s social services environment it is likely you are seeing people with more and more complex needs. Those service needs often cross systems for education, health, housing, criminal justice and more. This means that most clients will need services from multiple service providers. We all have our strengths and expertise, so we are acting in our clients’ best interests when we acknowledge that and collaborate with others to address all needs. There are many labels for assembling a set of services from multiple providers. Wraparound services, resource coordination, care coordination, services coordination. They all refer to how we, as case managers, develop service plans that are intentional and comprehensive. By the time we need to connect clients with services - internally and externally – we have collected: A thorough needs assessment based on the client’s feedback and our observations Their goals Their fears and concerns Their histories Family and friends who are involved in their lives That adds up to a lot of data that you need to consider in determining how you can assist your client as well as possible. If you are using a case management software system like Casebook you have all of this information in a centralized client record. It can accommodate as much information as you collect over the course of your service with any individual clients. Imagine you are an employment coach working with Susan, whose needs are relatively simple. She has an erratic work history due to poor habits, and as an experienced job coach you can help her identify the issues that contribute to her problems. With a clear picture of what’s happening you can work with her to overcome them. You and Susan create goals and she is on board with the service plan. It’s a straightforward problem with no particular aggravating factors that require a lot of interventions. You progress through the plan until you and Susan are confident she has established habits she can sustain.

1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve. 1. Intake Entering and storing basic case data is the foundation for client service management. Beginning with client intake you will open a case and establish the initial record. Using our case of Susan, the software you adopt should have a customizable intake form that walks you through the questions that your agency requires to initiate services. That could be information about the most basic demographics with sections for other possible types of histories: employment, medical needs for both physical and mental well-being, education, family, etc. Once you have completed the intake you can move on to the assessment. The prompts on the forms are just that: prompts. As you discuss issues and observe Susan you may accumulate more information than what fits comfortably on a form, whether it is paper or digital. Word documents that grow and grow complicates your ability to work with them throughout the case. And chances are you will find yourself entering the same information in multiple places. Case management software reduces this tedious task as well, as discussed later in this article. 2. Assessment This process begins immediately, from the moment you meet your client. You are trained to listen to and observe each person to learn what is important to them. This becomes part of the intake but you will dive more deeply into these items as you begin assessing their needs as the prelude to developing goals in partnership with clients. You and your client determine what supports are needed or desired. It is common for clients to be reluctant to accept certain kinds of services. For example, they may deny a diagnosis of mental illness as embarrassing or deny one of substance dependency out of fear of the criminal justice system. Over time, as trust builds, and as clients gain insights, you can expand your assessment and service records easily if they are digital. 3. Automating Access to Providers Goals and needs drive planning in patient-centered care. This is when you begin to identify the services and who provides them. When a person has complex needs it can be time-consuming to identify the appropriate services and providers, go through the referral process and take care of all the documentation the other providers require. You may go through this only to find that the providers do not have any availability. Case management software should allow you to maintain an up-to-date list of providers and the services they offer. Not only should it document the agencies at the time the list is made, it should be easy for you to update it. Agencies, funding and services change, sometimes very quickly. Maintaining accurate directories online is doable, but the ability to update it in-house is more valuable. It relieves providers of depending on web administrators to do so, saving time and money. This is especially when smaller agencies must rely on outside contractors. No matter how stable local services remain, waiting lists for openings is common. A record of openings in other departments in-house as well as external providers saves time. It also means you can monitor availability more easily. What is really helpful is your ability to set up alerts to follow-up with other providers about your client’s movement on the waitlist. What if there is an opening for a housing subsidy, which would be an enormous part of the solution for Susan, but she misses the opportunity? It happens. Housing providers have little recourse with clients without a stable address or steady access to email notices. She may have a government subsidized cell phone, but they come with limited minutes of use. Fortunately for Susan you are the main point of contact for the housing provider, eliminating this awful risk of losing an irreplaceable benefit. 4. Connecting Case Notes, Services and Providers As you would expect, you will need effective communication among providers. Case coordination will involve documents, forms and other information sharing. Built in tools should facilitate both sharing and retaining all such interactions. For example, case management software should be able to assign an email address to a case file. When you give that address to other providers they can send emails directly to the file. No more scanning to add it digitally or, worse, copying the information to add it to hard files. You can also upload documents to the file. The case file is the central repository for all information related to the client – whether it is generated within your agency or from outside of it. No matter how many pages of material you have, the file can grow in size to accommodate it. 5. Simplify Case Management It would be a mistake to view service coordination as a linear process. There are just too many factors in play. Multiple agencies, care providers, and services will be involved. Consider our example case of Susan. With one case manager organizing the providers they can eliminate multiple points of contact for her; she is already struggling to maintain her focus and lack of a stable address means paperwork does not reach her. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist her with reminders. Furthermore, as her case manager you may be able to bill time for transporting her. If not, you can help her with logistics. Once Susan has met with another care provider that person can email you a report documenting the outcome. Of course you will drop the communication into her case file, as described above. 6. Reduce Service Duplication Care coordination reduces the incidence of service duplication. Agencies can avoid redundant or conflicting services. You can use your calendar and scheduling functions to set up appointments and meetings. This allows you to know where your client should be and when, so that you may assist with logistics. 7. Automation How many times must you enter the same information into multiple forms? Great case management software can automate such repetitive tasks. It will allow you to populate forms as you need them. The workflow function simplifies steps such as scheduling and tracking each step as you provide direct care and the services your client receives from others. Service coordination can be a messy process. Social service providers like you are already pressed for time – high caseloads, productivity quotas, and limits on billable hours per client conspire to worsen jobs that are already high pressure. Despite its burdens, integrated services add incalculable benefits that are key to client success. Robust case management software eliminates the worst of those burdens. It gives you the tools to manage each client with person-centered care, while also reducing time-consuming and tedious tasks. In a social services environment where clients’ needs are increasingly complex, yet access to services is increasingly tighter, you need every possible advantage to deliver the kind of care that leads your clients to success. Case management software can take much of the pain out of this challenge, so you can focus on your ultimate goal: improving the lives of those you serve.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation, businesses across many industries have experienced an uptick in employee turnover. This trend has been especially prominent in the nonprofit sector, where limited budgets and resources often make it difficult for organizations to retain their top talent. High turnover can have serious consequences for nonprofits, including reduced productivity, decreased morale, and increased costs — all of which directly affect the quality of services these organizations provide to their constituents. In this article, we'll discuss why high turnover is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations, the negative impacts of high turnover on nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, the best practices for keeping teams engaged and reducing turnover, and how low-cost nonprofit case management software can help improve engagement and retention in nonprofit teams.