1. Case Management Techniques
Tools of the Trade

2. Case Management Techniques
Time Management
What is time management?
Time Management is about knowing where you want to go and getting yourself organized enough to get there.
Think about how you manage your personal time. How do you decide what you will do first? Do you work from the things that will require the least amount of time to those that will require more time? Do you start several projects first and work on them all simultaneously until completion? Whatever technique you use, you need to be organized, you will have to prioritize and plan.

3. Case Management Techniques
Time Management
This is not just a case manager issue, but a RWB issue as well
Does the RWB allow customers to stop in at any time and see his or her case manager without an appointment?
If so, it may be difficult for case managers in your area to effectively manage his or her cases
Time management is the foundation of case management skills. If you know how to manage your time efficiently, all other case management functions can be easily learned.
Why would it be difficult for case managers to manage their cases if walk-ins were allowed without an appointment? If I am a customer and I missed the appointment scheduled for me by my case manager, I know I can walk in and request to see him/her any time I want. If this happens often enough, it could lead to the case manager not being able to enter data and file as required. It could also cause the case manager to run late for those who do show of for their scheduled appointments.

4. Case Management Techniques
Time Management
What are strategies that can eliminate this type of strain on case managers?
Have an on-call worker for emergencies
If its not an emergency, the on-call worker can schedule another appointment when the customer’s case manager is available
Rover case manager
Create a walk-in calendar for the front desk to use. Each case manager places one walk-in appointment slot on the calendar for staff at the front desk to schedule appointments
During the case manager’s on-call day they can:
File, reschedule appointments, monitor their case loads by ensuring that everyone in their case load is accounted for
Rover case manager- an individual who has advance training and high initiative. This person will take schedule appts if a case manager calls in sick will help schedule participants appts if they just walk-in, need childcare referrals, etc
Allow case managers to choose one day out of the week as their on-call day for customers in their case load who may have missed an appointment
Using appointments along with your 2290 when a customer fails
Controlling your environment Giving appt not just telling, ensuring that every customer leaves with an appt.

5. Case Management Techniques
Time Management
Three important elements of time management are
Planning
Prioritizing
Scheduling

6. Case Management Techniques
Time Management
Planning
Plan time to review case-to-do’s
Longer appointments in the mornings
First appointment
Initial assessment review/IRP
Shorter appointments in the afternoon
Collecting documentation
Updating steps to self-sufficiency
When we talk about case-to-do’s prioritize case-to-do’s: Case closures, reopens, new case, end applicants and transfers ( the above four are called case actions to-do’s)
The RWBs need to set priority for C/M in reference to case-to-do’s

7. Case Management Techniques
Time Management
Prioritizing
What’s more important?
First appointment
Initial assessment review/IRP
Shorter appointments in the afternoon
Collecting documentation & support services
Updating steps to self-sufficiency

8. Case Management Technique
Time Management
Prioritizing your caseload
Making Case Management Work: Empowering people of change by Dr. Beverly Ford
Three levels of readiness
The author of Making Case Management Work: Empowering people of change discuss the three level of work readiness customer that maybe in your caseload,
Level I- can be job ready within the next six months
Level II- can be job ready, more than six months, but within one year
Level III- job readiness will take more than one year
By dividing your caseload into one of the three category can help you, as a case manager to better assist your participant. For example, if you have a customer who can be job ready in six month, but lack some work skills, this will help assess that the case manager in placing the customer into an work experience in order for the customer to gain the need job skills in order for them to be work ready within a year.

9. Case Management Technique
Time Management
By dividing your caseload into one of the three levels of readiness can help you, as a case manager, better assist your participant
Levels of Readiness
Level I- Can the participant be job ready within the next six months
Level II- Can the participant be job ready in less than a year
Level III- It will take the participant more than a year to become job ready

10. Case Management Techniques
Time Management
Scheduling
Schedule appointments that allow time to discuss
Issues that may hinder participation
Customer concerns
Allow time to
Enter data and case notes
Put participant’s case file away
Discuss some LOP in reference to case files
Training staff now in this technique now can save problems

11. Case Management Techniques
What are some effective time management tools?
Outlook calendar
Other appointment tracking software
PIM One
Discuss the outlook calendar and blocking of time

12. Longer appointments in the morning
The RWB need to decided and train staff to ensure that staff knows how to effectively use their outlook calendars
This is a case manager’s schedule for Tuesday, January 13, As you can see, she has devoted her first hour of work to pulling her appointments for the day, filing and returning phone calls.
Her first appointment is an initial appointment with a customer. She has given herself an hour to complete the appointment. She has two appointments after that, but they are shorter. She provides details on what she will do at the appointment and what’s required.
Her last hour of the day is devoted to returning any missed calls, putting files back where they belong, sending out 2290’s for missed appointments and making oral attempts.

13. Case Management Techniques
Outlook
Outlook may also be used to:
Track pre-penalties
Track three days for good cause if a 2nd failure has occurred within 30 days
Keep record of if the participant showed for the appointment or not
Color coding missed appointments

14. Case Management Techniques
PIM One 14

15. Case Management Techniques
What is PIM One?
PIM One looks like an electronic day planner
Organizational tabs
Users can set appointments
Set tasks or to-do’s
Has password protect ability
Provides interval reminders at your specification
There are organizational tabs on the right hand side in the same fashion as a day planner. Users can password protect and customize their planners. The software also provides interval reminders at your specification. For example: If you want to remind yourself to conduct a quality assurance review of a certain percentage of your cases, you can set the reminder to do it at the same time each month.
(Not selling this tool, but it’s just an example folks)- Personal Note

17. Case Management Techniques
Organization
Filing and Scanning
Who’s responsible for filing/scanning documents?
Is each case manager responsible for filing documentation?
Is there another person responsible for filing?
How soon after documentation is received is it required to be placed in the file or scanned?
Another important case management technique is Organization. How organized are you? How do you know where to begin on a project and once you get started, what steps are next? Think about the IRP that we develop with our customers. The IRP is many tools in one: it is an accountability tool, a planning tool, and an organization tool. It helps keep you organized by providing information on what the customer is required to complete and it keeps the customer organized by providing what (s)he is required to complete in a specified time.

18. Case Management Techniques
Organization
Touch Only Once Rule
Complete all tasks on the case when you meet with the participant
Documentation
Data entry
Case notes
Put it away

19. Case Management Techniques
Organization
Filing and Scanning
Is there a “checks and balance” system to ensure that all documents are scanned correctly?
Does staff check to make sure the wrong side of the document has not been scanned?
Do they check to see if both sides of a double-sided document has been scanned?
Another important case management technique is Organization. How organized are you? How do you know where to begin on a project and once you get started, what steps are next? Think about the IRP that we develop with our customers. The IRP is many tools in one: it is an accountability tool, a planning tool, and an organization tool. It helps keep you organized by providing information on what the customer is required to complete and it keeps the customer organized by providing what (s)he is required to complete in a specified time.

20. Case Management Techniques
Organization
Data Entry
Are case managers responsible for data entry or is another staff member responsible for all data entry?
If data entry staff are entering data in OSST, who follows up on the case to ensure that the participant is in compliance?
How soon after receiving documentation must data be entered?
Who checks and verifies the accuracy of the data entered?

21. Case Management Techniques
Organization
Setting Reminders (OSST To-Do’s)
Using OSST To-Do’s is an effective way to remind yourself of
Activity start dates
Documentation due dates
Activity end dates

22. Case Management Techniques
Entering a Case To-Do
Start by looking at the participant’s activity
Look at the participant’s IRP
Look at steps to self-sufficiency
Based on information you will enter reminders pertinent to the participant’s case

24. Start off by going into the participant’s case
Start off by going into the participant’s case. Click on “Case To-Do’s” on the left navigation tool

25. Choose what type of alert you want to display
Choose what type of alert you want to display. Here we chose “Special Alert”
We recommend choosing something that will not be confusing. Here we used Special Alert. You can also use Personal or something appropriate for the type of alert you want to display.

26. Enter the date you want the alert to generate and the participant’s requirement.
Key: You may want to enter all your personal reminders as special alert to distinguish between the system generated to do’s and staff entered to –do’s

27. Case Management Techniques
Communication
How effective is your communication?
Ask audience to describe their communication styles
Some communication styles:
Passive
Assertive
Aggressive
So how do you communicate with your customer?

28. Case Management Techniques
Communication
Use customer friendly language
Avoid jargon
Don’t assume that something is obvious
Ask customer to recap discussion
Clarify and correct, when appropriate

29. Case Management Techniques
Accountability
Holding participants accountable
Appointment letters
JPR Reminders and Reminder Notices
Time sheets
IRP
Appointment letters tell participants what the activity is, where the activity is and what time they should show for the activity. Use appointment letters, JPR or reminder notices, and time sheets to create steps to self-sufficiency and enter case to-do’s

30. Case Management Techniques
Summary
Have a system and keep it simple
Train staff on system
Every day needs a plan of action
Plan
Update your calendar and create a to-do list
Prioritize
Divide tasks into high and secondary priorities
Schedule
Try your schedule and update it to fit your needs

31. Case Management Techniques
Summary
Communication
Train staff on communication
Both written and verbal communication

32. Reference
Ford, B.(2002). Making case management work: Empowering people for change. Macon, GA: ASM Associates

33. Case Management Techniques
Questions?
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