Five criteria for planning and implementing case closure
Keep these five criteria in mind when you plan and implement case closure.
- Has the consumer acquired the needed resources and skills? Are any other significant resources or skills needed to maintain the consumer in the community?
- How long a period of stability has the consumer experienced in the community? In assessing this question, it is essential to review (through case records) the cyclical nature of the consumer’s history. Consumers may experience distress around specific dates, stressors or issues in their life.
- Has the case manager monitored the consumer’s use of resources to ensure that the relationships between the consumer and resources are secure and stable? How are problems resolved and have any new problems arisen?
- Have sufficient community and natural supports been established to maintain the consumer-resource relationship? This could include using the family, neighbors and friends to provide supports and a telephone number of someone who can provide on-call assistance to the consumer in times of crisis.
- Has the consumer learned how to acquire resources to meet their goals? Does the consumer know how to set personal goals, break them into smaller steps, generate alternative resources and how to approach the resource controllers?
In a sense, the process of closure begins when a client is first referred. The ending of a personalized relationship is difficult. Take time to process the closure issues that do arise. Remember that this can be an emotional time for both the case manager and consumer, use supervision (University of Kansas, 1985).