SCF Case Management for Drug-Involved Persons in Washington State

In general, case management is a process that coordinates and monitors services on behalf of a participant. The studies included in this meta-analysis evaluate a variety of case management approaches for individuals involved in the criminal justice system who have histories of drug involvement and are being supervised in the community under a “swift, certain, and fair” approach. The primary goals of case management for this population are 1) to improve collaboration between correctional staff and substance abuse treatment staff and 2) to increase participation in substance abuse treatment.
Case managers or specially-trained supervision officers use a variety of strategies to assess the participant’s treatment and programming needs, coordinate access to substance abuse treatment, monitor the participant, and advocate on the participant’s behalf. In some circumstances, the case manager or officer can provide these services, such as counseling or therapy, directly to the client. Program length ranges from three to six months.
“Swift, certain and fair” is an approach to community supervision wherein participants receive immediate sanctions when they violate the conditions of supervision. Sanction severity is proportional to the severity of the violation, with minor violations resulting in only a few days of incarceration. In response to repeat violations, sanctions gradually increase in severity. Participants are required to check in with their supervising officer regularly and are tested frequently and randomly for substance use. Case management studies that did not incorporate “swift, certain, and fair” approach were analyzed separately.