INTERNATIONAL CHILD AND YOUTH CARE NETWORK
31 JULY 2000
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At a time when we hear of child and youth care teams who are struggling with
individual youth, we remember the helpful role of the team leader or case
manager, who takes a strategic step backwards from the battle lines in order to
get a wider view of what is going on ...
Team leadership or case management
Harper (1986: 5) suggests that treatment can only be
successfully accomplished in settings where there is an appropriately
coordinated team approach. "Without organisation and clear delineation of
authority and responsibility, and without coordination of the various skills of
the team, child care practice becomes a pot-pourri of benevolent intention and
masquerading professionalism which seldom addresses the task effectively."
He quotes Krueger et al (1987: 132) who contribute two helpful
definitions to this discussion:
"Team: A group of individuals assigned to work
with a specific group of children. Teams usually consist of at least two or
more child care workers, a teacher, and a social worker. Consultants,
administrators, parents and youth may also play a partial or full-time role on
teams.
Teamwork: A process in which team members convene on
a regular basis to design and implement individual treatment plans for their
assigned group of children and families".
Harper goes on to discuss aspects of team leadership or case
management. He uses the analogy of the conductor of an orchestra whose primary
task is to interpret the score and keep the different players to the score. In a
large team, especially where there are many children in a programme, it is
important for someone to have the responsibility to keep team members focused on
treatment plans, and to 'orchestrate' the processes of reporting, review, onward
planning, etc. He suggests a number of roles for a case manager, briefly
elaborated below:
- The case manager is responsible for the overall
supervision of the plan. Especially where resources are limited and
staff time is short, if we are to deliver a professional service there is no
room for the short-term expedient which detracts from planned interventions
and invariably affects long-term effectiveness. Often, getting involved
meaningfully in the life space is difficult for child care workers, but
avoiding this is wasteful of staff resources. The case manager can play a
role here in helping and motivating staff toward optimal participation.
- The case manager keeps team members to agreed plans.
It is easy for child care workers to become discouraged by slow progress,
and to be tempted to \try something else' while a particular treatment plan
is in operation. The inconsistency can confuse the child and jeopardise the
plan.
- The case manager assists in the setting of interim goals.
Not all team members have access to all information and experience regarding
a particular child and his family. Within the context of that knowledge, the
team can be kept informed of 'where we are' along the treatment road, and
guided as to setting the next mile-post.
- The case manager knows the skills of team members and
acknowledges their contributions. Individual performances are an art
just as conducting a symphony is an art. The case manager is in a position
to use the best skills at the appropriate times, and to acknowledge the
individual contributions which may get lost in the larger work.
- The case manager ensures economy of time and of effort.
There is an urgency to our work; development has to be accelerated, gaps
filled and conflicts resolved. In group situations with over-burdened
workers, there is the danger that the `rewarding' children will draw most
attention, beyond their need, while others, more needy, receive too little.
All interventions with children need to be kept thematic and relevant to
treatment goals. The case manager can ensure that staff attention is
purposefully distributed across all children according to need and treatment
plan demands.
- The case manager contributes to the interpretation of
theory and practice. Many child care workers need help in translating
theoretical treatment plans into operational activity on the ground. Often,
they also need help in explaining practice observations in terms (7) of
theory. Harper (1986: 6) gives a compelling example: "I have known
children who collect affectionate, diminutising nicknames like `Stevie' or 'Poppet'
because they are seen as lovable, sweet children - and six years later, when
they are fourteen years old, they are still pathetically and tragically
trading on these endearing nicknames (and the affectionate behaviour that
goes with them) and nobody has noticed! It is here that the case manager can
ensure that time moves on development and age-appropriately".
- The case manager prepares team members for tasks and
roles. Tragedies in child care, says Harper, can occur when insufficient
`rehearsal time' is devoted to difficult new works. We need to know not only
what is happening, but also what is going to happen and what might happen,
and child care workers need to be kept up to date and prepared.
- The case manager shares responsibility for educated
guesses and calculated risks. Although there are accepted treatment
models, there are often times when it is necessary to depart from these,
perhaps dramatically, by provoking a confrontation or a crisis in order to
precipitate movement or to challenge destructive positions. These
situations, which inevitably involve risk and deviation from established
practice, can often be unique growth experiences for child care workers and
the team as a whole.
- The case manager ensures that no single child is
mismanaged. Harper (1986: 8) explains this as follows: "The
hard-to-manage child at the one extreme, or the very withdrawn or
undemanding child at the other, is frequently fumbled or miscaught ... This
is the unforgivable sin of child care and the least professional of our
reactions. We must never forget that we are accountable for the services we
render and that every child has a right to expect at the very least that his
life will be handled with a degree of competence. We may fail with
individual children, but we should never fail out of ignorance".
It is important to observe that these very compelling tasks
highlighted by Harper may be assigned to any staff member who has the knowledge
and skills to carry them out. The senior child care worker or the supervisor may
take the role; or, perhaps, a team leader is appointed or elected. Harper's
point is that, as an essential part of the structure and process of treatment, somebody
must be a team leader or case manager.
Harper, P. (1986) Principles of case management. The Child
Care Worker, Vol.4 No.10, 5-8
Krueger, M., Fox, R., Friedman, J. and Sampson, J. (1987) The
generic team approach. Child and Youth Care Quarterly, 16 (2) 131-144
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