Factors Affecting Case Management Recommendations for Children Entering State Custody

This article examines the factors that affect the residential placement and service recommendations made by case managers for children who enter state custody. One hundred case managers in five case management units were trained to conduct and interpret psychosocial assessments for each child at intake. The case managers' use of the completed assessments in recommending residential placements and mental health services was examined for 633 children. The results indicate that case managers' placement and service recommendations were guided less by the assessments of each child's psychosocial functioning than by labels given to the children before entering custody (e.g., substance abuser) and their particular “pathways” into custody (e.g., the reason for custody).