CASE MANAGEMENT IN WORKING WITH VULNERABLE POPULATION GROUPS

Abstract

Currently, social work is an important tool for providing social services to socially vulnerable population groups in the territorial community. Case management is aimed at solving psychosocial and interpersonal problems through direct interaction between a social worker and a recipient of social services. A social worker provides individual counseling and psychosocial support, helping vulnerable groups of the population overcome difficult life circumstances and improve the quality of personal life. Case management in the territorial community is an important tool for solving social problems and improving the quality of life of its residents. It promotes an individual approach, coordination of social services and resources, social support and counseling of service recipients, monitoring and evaluation of results, thereby ensuring social integration, positive and proactive adaptation, self-realization of members of the territorial community. Also, it should be emphasized that its effectiveness and quality is provided by the case manager. The article defines the stages of case management, as an algorithm of actions from the initial contact with the recipient of social services to solving his problem, and outlines the key principles of the case manager's work: an individual approach, taking into account the individual needs of the recipient of services when providing social services, focusing on his strengths, partnership between the case manager and the recipient of services, the «person in the environment» approach, teamwork, self-improvement. The authors also focus on key models of case management: multidisciplinary (coordination of the work of team members is carried out by a social worker), transdisciplinary (only one member of the team of specialists maintains direct contact with the recipient of social services, taking into account the opinion of colleagues) and interdisciplinary (the efforts of all specialists are integrated in the process of solving key issues). Case management ensures the access of the recipient of social services to resources in accordance with his individual needs for the protection of rights and personal interests, improvement of the quality of life. The key task of case management is the development of personal potential and increasing the ability of the recipient of social services to independently solve problematic issues.