Case Management

The term case management began to appear in the clinical literature in the 1970s. Some of the concepts associated with case management, such as self-help and support networks, have been around for many years and are associated with core values in American society. The practice of case management has its origins in the deinstitutionalization of mental healthcare, which began in earnest in the 1970s. The transfer of large numbers of mentally ill individuals from highly structured institutional settings to the community required a different management strategy. Likewise, the community corrections movement identified a need for the treatment and supervision of offenders in the community to render treatment more effective and less costly than what could be realized in jails and prisons.

While case management in criminal justice includes enforcing the limits and standards of behavior that are required by the courts, the case management perspective is based on the rehabilitative model of offender behavioral change. Case management in corrections is defined as a systematic process that involves identifying the needs of offenders and matching them with selected services in the community. The process includes distinct activities, which together are designed to prevent recidivism, reintegrate offenders into the community, and monitor individual progress and program outcomes. Limitations on state budgets, the costs of incarceration, and the annual release of approximately 650,000 offenders from prison each year are factors that render case management a particularly important topic in the 21st century.

After prisoners are released, case managers may assist them with everything from basic life skills like finding employment and housing to treating disease or addiction.

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