Searching for the Social Work Practice from the Strengths Perspective in the ‘Integrated Case Management’ Services for Children in Poverty

Abstract

Increasingly many social service settings are implementing ‘integrated case management.’ Especially child welfare is an leading arena where started providing case management services based on family centered and community-based approach in early 2000. The case management services are expanded in other arenas including people with disabilities, families in poverty, and the elderly. While there is yet to be a consensus on what is meant by ‘case management’ in Korea, characteristics of case management is unclear, although the system is known to be taking strengths-perspective and client-centered approach. These issues raise a question regarding what exactly this newly developing system is heading towards in terms of its underlying emphasis on child and family-centered, strengths perspective, and ‘integrated,’; and expects for social workers do both in the service system and in the process of providing mass-services for the children and their family. Thus, this study briefly reviewed theoretical foundation for the children in poverty: social environment where the children and family resides, changes in family functioning and relationships for children and necessary shift of perspectives for the social work practice; and reconceptualization of children as the service user. Then taking the two projects as example, this study outlined the characteristic of the case management services, contents of the services, and role of the case manager, I. e. social worker in the two representative projects, the ‘We Start’ and the ‘Dream Start.’ Then this study examined and discussed characteristics of their perspectives in the two projects, their views of the family and their functioning, the level of strengths perspective, roles of the case manager. Finally this study suggested complementary components for better case management practice for the children in poverty from the strengths perspective.