Recommendation: Coordination and case management
What Parents Said...
When my son got into...case management, I felt
like one of the lucky ones who didn’t have that long of a wait.
Maybe it’s because I got loud and very demanding. (New York)
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Nobody actually told us about them
[case managers], we just fell into it. (Oregon)
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Children with complex needs require a case manager to help organize
and coordinate services. Surprisingly, given that case management is a
fundamental part of most adult mental health systems, many of the focus
group families said they did not have a case manager and quite a few did
not know that such a service existed. Case management services ought to
be available to all children identified as having serious mental disorders,
particularly when they are, as these children were, involved with more
than one child-serving system. It is also extremely important that caseloads
be limited to a reasonable size, so case managers can more effectively
serve children with complex needs and their families.
States should ensure that every child with complex mental health needs
who is using multiple services from multiple systems has a single case
manager to coordinate care and monitor the need for further interventions.
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