Case management and access to services for homeless women

Previous research on case management for homeless persons has not sufficiently addressed access to services for women of reproductive age. This cross-sectional study estimates the proportion of homeless women with case managers and the associations of case management with access to shelter; food stamps; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and general medical care. Nine hundred seventy-four homeless women were sampled in Los Angeles County in 1997 and asked about their use of services and whether they had case managers. Approximately 56 percent of respondents had case managers. Having a case manager was associated with greater odds of using food stamps and of finding shelter without difficulty in the previous 30 days, but not with use of WIC or with unmet needs for medical care. More assertive forms of outreach may be necessary to link this population to case managers and a broader range of services.