June 1994 — Features

Print this article | Email this article

Click here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal

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

The CMS also will generate various reports. These include individual student reports (with family information), summary reports of an entire caseload, and a menu item known as the "C-STARS Report Pack" that contains specific reports the University of Washington uses to evaluate the impact of school-based case management on at-risk students and their families. Additional menus let a user download all information to a diskette, as well as identify agencies, case managers and programs for at-risk students and their families. This is especially helpful when developing a directory of service providers in a given area. Monitoring and Follow-up Monitoring and follow-up is assisted by NAMS. This allows the user to determine if students are still at risk, whether progress has been made, or if any new cases have emerged. This is done primarily through re-implementing the NAMS process as described earlier for the intake process. CARAS is designed so that school-based case managers (and other school personnel) have a comprehensive, user-friendly method of managing, as well as reporting on, their caseloads. Initially developed using Microsoft's FoxBASE+/Mac database program, efforts are underway to create a version that is compatible with MS-DOS. Current Method's Shortcomings
As it stands now, the typical procedure for school-based case management is driven by a referral, followed by an assessment. At that point, a determination is made as to whether the student and family need a short-term, limited intervention to address an immediate need, or whether they should become "fully-targeted" for more complete service. The latter is usually provided over the course of an academic year and a written service plan is developed. Next comes service implementation and coordination (including monitoring and evaluation), eventually followed by closing the case.