The Evaluation of Case Management Services was conducted in accordance with Veterans Affairs Canada’s (VAC) approved 2017-22 Risk-Based Audit and Evaluation Plan. The plan was developed to align with the 2016 Policy on Results. This evaluation meets policy requirements for departments to periodically evaluate organizational spending on the programs and services of the department.
The evaluation focused on VAC’s Case Management services which assist Veterans with complex needs, and their families, to achieve mutually agreed upon goals through a collaborative, organized and dynamic process, coordinated by a VAC Case Manager.
The evaluation assessed:
- the reach of VAC’s Case Management Services,
- the tools used by VAC employees to support the coordination of the services,
- if the services are supporting the needs of a diverse population,
- departmental standards relating to the services, and
- whether there are opportunities for enhanced tools/practices based on experiences at other government Departments.
The evaluation findings and conclusions are based on the analysis of multiple lines of qualitative and quantitative evidence.
The evaluation resulted in the following recommendations:
Recommendation 1:
It is recommended that the Director General, Service Delivery and Program Management, work in collaboration with the Director General, Field Operations to:
- Increase screening and case management reach for Canadian Armed Force (CAF) Veterans and former RCMP members with complex needs; and
- Reduce barriers and provide additional support to further enable Case Managers to transition Veterans that do not have complex needs into a more appropriate level of support.
Recommendation 2:
It is recommended that the Director General, Service Delivery and Program Management improve the effectiveness and efficiency of case management tools by:
- Updating processes to:
- Have Case Managers complete a Case Needs and Complexity Indicator (CNCI) at entry/graduation from Case Management and when their professional judgment deems there is a change in need/complexity level, thus eliminating the requirement to complete it every 90 days;
- Increasing efforts to:
- Monitor the effectiveness of the new screening tool by developing/implementing performance metrics and quality management processes to assess/measure that clients are being triaged to the appropriate level of service.
- Implementing system/tool/process improvements (over the medium-long term, next 1-3 years) to:
- Join the case plan tool directly to any assessments completed which identify the needs associated with a case managed client (i.e., health, mental health, social integration, employment, etc.);
- Establish domains/categories that the case plan desired outcomes, actions steps, and resources can be assigned to;
- Link action steps and resources to the desired outcomes/goals they are associated with;
- Streamline and simplify the level of effort required within the Case Plan Tool by: eliminating possible overlap/duplication, creating standard lists and drop-down options where appropriate, and using key fields to automatically generate resource authorizations;
- Integrate the ongoing assessment of complexity and need directly within the Case Plan, thus eliminating the CNCI tool;
- Provide options for information to be updated/shared through My VAC Account (where appropriate); and
- Improve usability features (viewing, reading, editing, spell-check, etc.)
Recommendation 3 (Medium-Long Term):
It is recommended that the Director General, Service Delivery and Program Management work in collaboration with the Director General, Field Operations to:
- develop and implement case management standards based on the client’s levels of need and complexity;
- formalize the intended outcomes for VAC’s Case Management Services, establish targets and implement monitoring.