Practical Applications of Case Management Software for Practitioners in Health and Human Services - Information Communication Technologies for Human Services Education and Delivery - page 183

service organizations will have the greatest impact
on their success.
There will be an increased public account-
ability for funding. This will go beyond financial
accountability to include service quality and
service outcomes. Performance indicators and
programs outcomes are likely to be made more
public enabling comparisons to be made by the
clients they serve. Savvy consumers may elect
to attend programs which can demonstrate the
best outcomes. This is already occurring in the
health sector with use of service indicators such
as infection rates of particular hospitals and the
community. Scrutiny of performance and outcome
measures for funded programs will be undertaken
with attention to the relevance, rigor, and interpre-
tation. For example some funding bodies already
specify the measures required as part of funding.
With this data they are able to make comparisons
between the costs and service outcomes. They may
use this knowledge to determine future funding.
Benchmarking is a process that allows funders to
compare performances, outcomes and associated
costs for similar services. It allows examination
of performance in particular periods of time,
outcomes for different target groups, variations
of service delivery and performance in similar
organizational structures and geographical areas
(Pathfinder 2003). Funders may well classify ser-
vices according to what they interpret as a “good”
performance although such a classification system
would need to done with some care as different
client groups, neighborhoods or populations may
exhibit different results.

data collection are under utilizing the system's
capabilities and not getting a return on their in-
vestments. With increased accountability require-
ments from funders, there are expectations that
the not for profit sector will need to demonstrate
outcomes for clients. This chapter, using Penelope
case management software as an illustration has
provided practical examples of the way agencies
can make the transition from data collection to
performance monitoring and demonstration of
effectiveness.

referenceS

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Commonwealth of Australia. Privacy Act 1988.
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Eakin, L. (2007). We can't afford to do business
this way: A study of the administrative burden re-
sulting from funder accountability and compliance
practices . Toronto, Canada: Wellesley Institute.

Frechtling, J. A. (2007). Logic modeling methods
in program evaluation . San Francisco: Jossey
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Gregoire, J., & Jungers, C. (2007). The counseling
companion . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Hatry, H. H. (2004). Using agency records. In J.
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concluSion

Johnson, M., & Austin, M. (2006). Evidence-
based practice in the social services: Implica-
tions for organizational change. Administration
in Social Work , 30 (3), 75-104. doi:10.1300/
J147v30n03_06

Case management software programs are sophis-
ticated tools with practical capabilities enabling
improved management performance and dem-
onstration of outcomes. At a basic level, these
software programs facilitate collection of data
about clients. Agencies that do not go beyond