What Exactly is Case Management in South Carolina?
When you, your child, a friend, or a loved one lives with a disability, getting help can sometimes be very confusing if there is not an advocate to work with and help facilitate all the services available to them. A key benefit in South Carolina is being matched with a Case Manager who can be an advocate and help guide families and individuals to valuable resources. The first and most important step is building a strong relationship between you, your family, and a highly effective Case Manager for the absolute best results.
The Roles of Case Management in South Carolina
Case management is a system that is put in place by the state so that important and helpful services for living with a disability can be made easier – such as assessing, planning, and coordinating care and resources. A Case Manager is a trained professional who works as a liaison with SC DDSN and the local programs or resources an individual or family might need. Having this advocate can help move along the process to receive services and be connected to resources. The first step is screening and eligibility. Screening must be done to assess the needs and if a Case Manager assignment is a suitable fit. During the screening process, it will be determined if the family actually requires case management services. If so, the family or individual will have the opportunity to choose their preferred Case Management service provider.
There are many roles of a Case Manager and the roles vary depending on the needs of the family they are working with.
The first role of the Case Manager is assessing. During this time, the family member is assessed for the degree of needs that need to be addressed. There may just be a speech or motor delay that can be addressed easily with therapy. Other cases can be more involved and will require much more involvement from the Case Manager. This is the purpose of the assessment.
The second role of the Case Manager is to evaluate the risk involved with the child or individual. This will assess if any certain therapies or programs need to be implemented immediately to keep the family member from harm. If this is the case, the Case Manager will work quickly to get the family member the help he/she needs.
The third role of the Case Manager is to help make a plan for the child or individual, and their family. A plan can range anywhere from regular therapies to local support groups to respite hours and so on. This planning step is essential in meeting the needs of the family member both quickly and appropriately.
The fourth role is helping implement and track the plan. Once the other steps have been completed, it is time to implement the plan. This is where case management takes on so much importance. Communication between families and service providers can be very difficult. The Case Manager has a different relationship with the provider and can be the voice for the family when they could be frustrated with trying to get the services on their own. There are many aspects to implementing the correct plan and having it all come together, and this is where a Case Manager becomes invaluable.
The fifth role of case management is outcome evaluation and documentation. At certain periods of time, which are typically stated in the plan, the progress of the plan will be evaluated. This helps the Case Manager and the family determine if the plan is effective, what changes need to be made, communicate correctly with SC DDSN, and so forth.
Case management is such an important role, and if done correctly can benefit everyone involved. Case managers often form wonderful relationships with their families and individuals and that helps in facilitating what care is best for the family member.
Our Case Management Services at Bright Start SC
Here at Bright Start, we pride ourselves on going above and beyond to provide not only the best Case Management services but to form a true and meaningful relationship of advocacy and empowerment with you. We would be honored to talk with you more about our services.