Appropriateness of assertive case management for drug-involved prison releasees

Assertive case management models have been used successfully in both social work and mental health settings and, most recently, in the substance abuse field. This article reports on the application of an assertive case management model with drug-involved parolees in Delaware. Because of a variety of factors, the evaluation proved to be less than an ideal test of the effectiveness of the case management approach. Although there were some modest effects on reducing relapse to drug use, it appears that assertive case management is of limited value for clients who are not merely unable to access services, but who are often quite assertive in their unwillingness to make use of these services.