Introduction

Case management is a service delivery approach in which staff meet with clients to provide direct, personalized one-on-one support to improve a comprehensive set of outcomes related to employment, education, housing, health, and public benefit receipt. This Evidence Snapshot summarizes what rigorous research tells us about 21 programs that used case management as their primary service and the programs’ impacts on earnings, employment, the receipt of public benefits, and education and training. The data come from 27 high- or moderate-quality studies that began between 1987 and 2011, were published through May 2022, and were reviewed by the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse.

Primary Research Questions

  • What does the evidence say about case management programs for people with low incomes?
  • Do case management programs increase earnings, employment, education or training, and do they reduce the receipt of public benefits?
  • What are the most effective case management programs?

Purpose

This Evidence Snapshot describes the effectiveness of programs that were identified by Pathways to Work as using case management as their primary service. It summarizes what we know about these programs and their impacts so Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other program administrators, policymakers, researchers, and the general public can apply the evidence to their context and the questions that matter to them.

Key Findings and Highlights

On average, case management programs produced modest improvements on outcomes and had the largest effects on earnings. In particular, for program participants -- as compared with comparison groups that did not receive program services --

  • Short-term annual earnings increased by $410, and long-term annual earnings increased by $490, on average, across 18 case management programs for which effects on these outcomes could be calculated.
  • On average, employment did not change in the short term, and long-term employment increased by 1 percentage point across 18 case management programs for which effects on these outcomes could be calculated.
  • The proportion of people receiving public benefits did not change in the short term and decreased by 1 percentage point in the long term, on average, across the 16 case management programs for which this outcome was examined. The amount of annual public benefits received decreased by $167 in the short term and $120 in the long term, on average, across 12 case management programs for which effects on this outcome could be calculated.
  • Education and training attainment increased by 2 percentage points, on average, across the 6 case management programs for which these outcomes were examined.
  • Three case management programs improved outcomes in two or more domains examined by Pathways to Work.

Methods

Pathways to Work assigned an effectiveness rating to each program in each of four outcome domains: earnings, employment, public benefit receipt, and education and training. The rating describes the extent of support that the program is likely to produce favorable results in that domain if faithfully replicated with a similar population.

For this snapshot, Pathways to Work calculated the average impact for each domain by averaging impacts within moderate- and high-quality studies, then within programs (because there may be multiple studies on a single program), and then across case management programs. The average includes all studies, not just those with a supported rating or statistically significant findings, because these studies still provide useful evidence in considering the overall effectiveness of case management.

This snapshot describes the programs using case management that had positive impacts on earnings, employment, public benefit receipt, and education and training, and highlights programs that were effective in multiple outcome domains.

Citation

McCallum, Diana, Olivia Mirek, Irma Casteneda, and Erin Welch (2023). Evidence Snapshot: Case management, OPRE Report #2023-163, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Glossary

Case Management: Meeting, typically one-on-one, with an employment specialist or counselor who helps assess needs and refers clients to other available services. Case management can take place before or during employment and could focus on employment or on other topics, such as mental health or a substance use disorder.

Primary service: A program’s primary service is the principal service of the program. The primary service is (1) a component that a large proportion of program group members received and a large proportion of comparison group members did not and (2) the component that was described by the study authors as most integral to the theory of change tested by the study. programs may provide multiple services, but only one service is designated as primary.

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Evidence snapshot | February 2024

Case Management (2.65 MB)

Programs with Case management as the primary service

The table presents up-to-date information from Pathways to Work reviews, which may be more current than the information in the Evidence Snapshot.

Program Increase earnings Increase employment Decrease benefit receipt Increase education and training Populations and employment barriers Services Provided
Accelerated Study in Associate Programs Ohio Supported for increasing earnings Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing employment No evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt Supported for increasing education and training At least a high school diploma or equivalent Action step development, Assessment, Career planning, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Employment experiences, Employment skills development, Goal setting, Ongoing support, Case management, Tuition assistance/financial aid, Work supports, Basic skills/bridge programs, Occupational or sectoral training, Job readiness
Alabama's Avenues to Self-Sufficiency through Employment and Training Services (ASSETS) No evidence to assess support for increasing earnings No evidence to assess support for increasing employment No evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Public benefits recipients Job search assistance, Job readiness, Job placement, Case management
Bridge to Employment in the Healthcare Industry (BTH) Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing earnings No evidence to assess support for increasing employment Insufficient evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Ongoing support, Career planning, Assessment, Post-employment participant follow-up, Job search assistance, Job readiness, Stipends, Employment coaching, Case management
Bridges to Pathways (Bridges) Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing earnings Supported for increasing employment No evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Justice involvement, Young adults (age 16-24), Less than a high school diploma or equivalent Ongoing support, Employment skills development, Employment experiences, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Assessment, Soft skills training, Job search assistance, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs, Basic skills/bridge programs, Transportation assistance, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Case management
Bridges to Success Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing earnings Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing employment Not supported for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Action step development, Assessment, Benefit navigation/access, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Goal setting, Ongoing support, Case management
Building Nebraska Families (BNF) Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing earnings Supported for increasing employment Insufficient evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Unemployed, Cash assistance recipients, Public benefits recipients Ongoing support, Goal setting, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Soft skills training, Basic skills/bridge programs, Legal assistance, Financial education, Case management
Career Builders Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing earnings Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing employment Insufficient evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Single parents, Parents, Unemployed, Cash assistance recipients, Public benefits recipients Ongoing support, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Career planning, Assessment, Job readiness, Mental health services, Peer mentoring, Case management
Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing earnings Insufficient evidence to assess support for increasing employment Insufficient evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Noncustodial parents, Adults (age 25+) Job search assistance, Job readiness, Job placement, On-the-job training, Legal assistance, Transportation assistance, Peer mentoring, Ongoing support, Employment Retention and Advancement Services, Career planning, Case management
Ecologically-Based Treatment No evidence to assess support for increasing earnings Not supported for increasing employment No evidence to assess support for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Young adults (age 16-24), Parents, Single parents, Homelessness, Substance use disorder Assessment, Benefit navigation/access, Goal setting, Case management, Mental health services, Treatment or recovery services for substance use disorder, Housing supports and subsidies
Employment Opportunities, Personalized Services, Individualized Training, and Career Planning Supported for increasing earnings Supported for increasing employment Supported for decreasing benefit receipt No evidence to assess support for increasing education and training Public benefits recipients, Unemployed Employer-focused retention strategies, Case management, Financial education, Transportation assistance, Work supports, Basic skills/bridge programs, Integrated education and training, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs, Job development, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance