ABSTRACT
Case planning is at the heart of casework, both successful and ineffective casework. Some objectives were not only unhelpful to the family but increased the caseworker's liability. For most mental health and social service professionals, the courtroom is not an arena in which they feel particularly competent and comfortable. The chapter gives specific directions for constructing the written version of that consensus. Although every state, jurisdiction, and even agency typically has its own protocols and policy regarding case plans, it offers an approach based on the principles of solution-based casework. The challenge to writing good case plans becomes easier if the caseworker has helped the family progressively expand their definition of what is wrong. Written tasks reflect the conversation between the worker and the family about what needs to happen to achieve certain objectives in the future.
