Case Management, Service Integration, and the
             Community-Centered Alternative in Forensic Human Services
             Criminal justice agencies across the nation are using case management practices to fight recidivism, homelessness, and unemployment. Case management is in operation in the courts, probation departments, and parole departments for offenders who require domestic violence intervention, drug treatment, mental health treatment, health care, or other services. In this essay, I will compare the use of traditional case management approaches in corrections to the innovative community-centered approaches currently employed in Canada using the Centre Locaux de Servces Communautaires (CLSC) philosophy. I will explore the thinking and process by which human service workers identify and deliver these services; the ways in which brokering, advocacy, organizational structure, and technology impact the human service worker; and the how the relationship between the organization and its workers impacts the delivery of services.
             Probation and parole officers usually supervise the case management of offenders. Based on the social service models of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the basic activities of contemporary forensic case management include engaging the client in the treatment process, assessing the client's needs, developing a service plan, linking the client with appropriate services, monitoring client progress, intervening with sanctions when necessary, and advocating for the client as needed (Healey, 1999).
             Support for case management in corrections is generally strong among experts, administrators, supervisory personnel, and case managers themselves. However, there are fundamental differences in forensic case management that make open communication and cooperation between probation/parole and treatment staff essential. Failure to develop this rapport can result in increased paperwork, lack of managerial control of cases, and poor s...