Serving rural families of developmentally disabled children: a case management model

Family-centered, community-based case management is a key feature of new federal legislation mandating educational and preschool services for all developmentally disabled children. Social work skills, including counseling, planning, coordination, and knowledge of family and community dynamics, are germane to this task. The goal of family-centered case management is the empowerment of parents as caretakers and planners for their children. Highly skilled case managers will be particularly needed in rural areas where families must deal with scarce resources and other environmental constraints. The authors describe a program employing master's-level social work case managers who serve rural Appalachian families with developmentally disabled children. Included is a case illustration that delineates both case management activities and the contextual elements important in working in an Appalachian rural community.