June 1994 — Features

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CARAS: A School-Based, Case Management System for At-Risk Students

While the above mentioned computer systems are good at either helping each student in classroom instruction or managing large programs, one's focus is too narrow and the other too broad to take into account all of the influences responsible for a particular student being at risk. Influences include substance abuse, poor living conditions, parental unemployment, and/or homelessness and gang involvement. Specifically, much of the current software d'es not provide a means of developing service plans for students and their families, nor d'es it generate case reports and/or progress updates. CARAS addresses these particular case management needs. How CARAS Evolved Development and implementation of CARAS is part of a U.S. Department of Education Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program grant received by C-STARS. Built on a software program developed from the C-STARS model for school-based case management, this prototype underwent major changes, eventually resulting in CARAS. Problem areas emerged during this evolution. For example, not all the functions of case management are always applied with each student in a given caseload, nor are they applied to the same degree or in a prescribed manner. Without the means to properly focus the needed service functions on each student, optimal or even adequate achievement of service goals is not always obtained. What works with one student d'es not necessarily work with another.
Another problem area continually faced by case managers is sorting referrals into specific, identifiable categories. For example, some students have specific problems in attendance, grades or conduct. Other students are reported as doing fine in these areas, yet are drop-out risks because of family situations. Eventually, family problems show up as school problems. This points to a second difficult area: who is identified as "at-risk"?