Case Management for Children Reintegrating into Family and Community-Based Care

A step-by-step process and approach that enables practitioners (sometimes called “case workers,” “case managers” or “social workers”) to work with families who need support.  It includes tools and processes for work with children and families, recognizing all of their strengths and risks. Case management is used with both families at risk of separation and those where children have already separated and are in the process of being reintegrated, including biological family or placed into an alternative family (e.g., foster or kinship). The end goal of case management is that children are safe and nurtured within a family that is able to care for them, and access needed services that address risks and increase resilience.   

(Definition adapted from conversations with practitioners in Kenya, Guatemala and Moldova)

Essential reading 

1. Case management for reunification and reintegration. This short resource can be used and adapted to different contexts: Case worker’s handbook: Case management for reintegration of children into family- or community-based care 

2. Case management for reunification and reintegration. This detailed resource can be used and adapted to different contexts: Case Management Procedures for Reunification and Reintegration of Children and Adolescents into Family and Community-based Care (en espanol) 

3. Case management for reunification and reintegration of children with disabilities: Reunification and Reintegration of Children with Disabilities into Family Care: Guidance for Residential Care Facilities & Case Management Teams 

4. Case management best practices: Analysis of National and International Best Practices in Case Management (in limba romana) 

5. Case management practical guidance for frontline workers: Promoting Resilience-Informed Care 

6. Learning brief on family and workforce strengthening and case management: The Importance of Integrating Family Strengthening, Reunification, Case Management and Workforce Strengthening 

Country-specific essential reading 

Kenya 

• Case management for reunification and reintegration. This detailed resource includes case management in support of family placement in Kafaalah and Kinship Care: Caseworker’s toolkit: Case Management for Reintegration of Children into Family or Community Based Care  

• Caseworker’s handbook: Case Management for Reintegration of Children into Family- or Community-Based Care 

• Case conferencing guidance: Standard Operating Procedures for Case Conferencing 

• Reintegration of children without parental care in Kenya: Case Management: A Scalable Model for Reintegration of Children without Parental Care in Kenya 

• Measuring disability in residential care in Kenya: Disability Measurement in Residential Care Facilities in Kenya and its Role within Case Management 

• Case management learning brief: How Case Management Contributes to Sustainable Reintegration of Children from Residential Care to Family-Based Care & Community Services

Guatemala 

• Case management processes in Guatemala: Application of the Case Management Methodology Process: Guatemala (en espanol) 

• Case management for reunification and reintegration. This detailed resource can be used and adapted to different contexts: Case Management Procedures for Reunification and Reintegration of Children and Adolescents into Family and Community-based Care (en espanol) 

Moldova 

• Ghidul de suport pentru implementarea practică a Managementului de caz în domeniul protecției copilului

• Learning Brief: The Importance of Integrating Family Strengthening, Reunification, Case Management and Workforce Strengthening  

• Insights from Moldova: Role of Collective Impact in Workforce Strengthening. Available in English and Romanian 

• Analysis of International and National Best Practices in Case Management. Available in English and Romanian. A short summary of report found here: Managementul de Caz (Romanian).  

• Situational Assessment of Child and Family Protection Personnel Training in the Republic of Moldova. Available in English and Romanian 

Haiti 

• Reunification and reintegration of children with disabilities: Reunification and Reintegration of Children with Disabilities into Family Care: Guidance for Residential Care Facilities & Case Management Teams 

India 

• The impact of COVID-19: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children’s Care: India  

• An overview of CTWWC’s work in India