Graduation Semester and Year

2021

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Social Work

Department

Social Work

First Advisor

Rachel J Schrag Voth

Abstract

Poverty is a complex issue caused by many interconnecting factors. Long-term case management programs provide an individualized approach to combating these factors in the lives of clients and helping them overcome poverty. Previous studies have found that while clients find case management programs to be helpful, there are mixed results regarding the effectiveness in outcomes of these programs. This study conducted interviews or surveys with four clients and seven case managers from two different organizations in a large Texas metropolitan area to get their opinions on the effectiveness of long-term case management programs in decreasing poverty and what can be done to make these programs more effective. This study found that case manager support and financial and material resources provided by case management programs were vital to client success. However, the program that only lasted 12 months was found to be too short to help clients fully overcome poverty. This study suggests that more feedback from clients regarding case manager performance, revised guidelines for matching clients to programs, increased collaboration between case management programs and referral sources, and use of new funds to expand program services rather than expand the number of clients served to increase the effectiveness of long-term case management programs.

Keywords

Case management, Poverty, Housing programs, Income, Employment, Case managers, Government assistance, Public assistance

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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