Case management decision making: goal transformation through discretion and client interpretation

This study examines the decision-making strategies employed by case managers in a state-funded home care program for the elderly. Specifically, this study applies Lipsky's (1980) theory of street-level bureaucracy to gerontological research on case management decision making in an effort to demonstrate the presence of case management discretion, and the impact of that discretion on home care implementation. Drawing upon individual interviews and focus group interviews, results suggest the applicability of the proposed framework, and indicate the need for policy planners to identify factors for case manager discretion that result in undesirable home care goal transformation.