Case management is a key pillar for workforce development and human services. Case managers carry out a wide range of activities and play a critical role in helping guide, support, and motivate job seekers and those seeking training, employment, and advancement services. In workforce development programs, case management guides and supports the customer on their path toward obtaining employment and career advancement.
Case managers carry out four critical activities: assessments, career planning, coordination of supportive services, and job matching, placement, and follow-up. In the most effective case management, direct customer service activities are comprehensive, well-integrated, and tracking systems allow careful, ongoing monitoring and documentation.
While it is true that many workforce development CRMs offer case management, Launchpad emphasizes the quality and depth of the case management services we provide and is one of the best CRMs for government agencies, nonprofits, and the education industry.
Assessments are one of the essential steps that serve as a foundation to helping participants. Assessments are a systematic approach to gathering information about the customer's strengths and assets, needs and challenges, interests, and goals. This information, in turn, guides the development of the customer's employment plan, commonly referred to as an IEP (individual employment plan).
At Launchpad, we wanted to make the first assessment, or client intake, a hassle-free experience for both case managers and their clients. We created the Common Intake Form, a single form built into our CRM that gathers personal information, employment history, barriers of employment, skills, demographic information, licenses, certifications, and goals. Our proprietary program matching functionality then reduces the administrative burden. It empowers case managers to provide optimal results by automatically creating matches to programs and services that the job seeker is eligible for, including federal, state, and local programs. We also have additional assessment record types that can be utilized throughout a job seeker's journey.
With the information gathered from assessments, it is vital to establish a career plan. Career planning includes:
Analyzing the client's skills.
Interests.
Assessment results.
Examining current labor market information to develop an employment plan that includes immediate steps to obtain employment and long-term strategies to advance in the labor market.
An effective career plan will include:
Goals - what the job seeker wants to achieve. Goals should follow the "SMART" format, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant (to both the job seeker and the labor market), and have an achievable Timeframe.
Objectives/Next Steps - what the job seeker needs to do to achieve their goals.
Services - Any programs or services the job seeker is receiving to meet objectives.
Milestones - show when a job seeker has achieved a goal or completed an objective.
Along with a career plan, case notes can be used to help document everything from conversations had with a client, as well as a way for service providers and case managers to communicate. Case notes should include detailed but concise information gathered directly from the customer or, in some cases, from the customer’s social system (for example, if a case manager has been unable to contact a customer but learns that the customer is employed through an informal conversation with a family member).
Throughout this process, it's essential to keep a person-centered focus. Studies have shown that people in need of human services or workforce development services are most successful when they have the support of both their case manager and supportive services. Connecting job seekers and clients to supportive services such as SNAP, TANF, child care, vocational rehab services for veterans and disabled people, and helping find homes for the unhoused are just a small number of supportive services that are critical to success.
Launchpad understands how important these services are to communities and work with our clients to make sure case managers have these services as a database in our CRM. Not only does it flag which services a client is eligible for, but our software can also help automate the referral process to service providers and provide visibility to everyone working with that participant on what services are being delivered and by whom.
When it comes to job matching or placements, a case manager may provide career advice, review resumes, help the job seeker develop interviewing skills, enroll them in job fairs or hiring events, or enroll them in training courses. Successful, sustained employment is often contingent upon
the availability of continued contact with a case manager. Some programs (such as WIA Youth) require follow-up for 12 months after program exit.
Launchpad's case management tools can be used to support matching job seekers to jobs and obtaining new job skills or developing existing skills. Our case management tools include the capability to automatically match job seekers to jobs based on their information and resumes. We also provide abilities to track training course enrollment and outcomes, and job seekers can self-enroll in job fairs and other hiring events.
Case management is vital to providing crucial services in both human services and workforce development. Launchpad is modernizing the way these services are administered and improving outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. See how Launchpad can modernize the way you provide services by requesting a demo today!