Improvements in 2024 

It seemed to us that 2024 slipped by rather quickly, and so we here at GVT had to suddenly jam on the brakes and take a look in the rear-view mirror. At the end of each year, we like to report on the progress case workers have made in both the delivery of services and their impact on community well-being. In a year when increased caseloads presented significant challenges, case workers took a great leap forward in both enhancing the lives of the clients they served and improving the systems used to deliver services.

Delivery of Services

In 2024, case workers began to develop a more complex view of the issues that troubled individuals and families in their care. Homelessness was often caused by alcoholism, for example, so simply finding the alcoholic temporary shelter was not a sufficient solution to a more complex problem.

• In 2024, case workers adopted advanced service delivery technologies (FAMCare e.g.) at a more rapid rate enabling them to integrate three or four services in a service provision pathway. By addressing the interconnectedness of multiple challenges, case workers were able to execute better integrated solutions leading to improved outcomes for their clients.
• The adoption of new and upgraded technologies was also a response to increased caseloads. The main challenge to case worker effectiveness in 2024 was overburdening caseloads that were leading to case worker burnout and high industry turnover rates.
• One case worker reported to this blog that when her agency adopted a new case management system in 2024 it cut her paperwork down from four hours a day to just under two. She said her agency had been using a fifteen-year-old legacy case management platform that was little more than a record keeping log. The implementation of new case management software allowed for real-time updates, data sharing between agencies, and enhanced tracking of client progress.
• 2024 also saw an increase in the use of telehealth services. Case workers began to connect their clients with teletherapy and remote counseling services which began to address geographic limitations to access to care.
• What's more, case workers became advocates for digital literacy among clients by helping them gain access to technology and teaching them how and when to use it. Case workers empowered clients to take greater control of their situations in an increasingly digital world.

Impact on the Community

In 2024, case workers forged more partnerships with other community services enabling them to offer solutions by a "team" of experts that would be both more comprehensive and stand the test of time. They recognized that complex social issues could not be effectively tackled alone and began more active engagement with their counterparts in private charitable organizations and multiple government agencies that could offer support in many areas of need.

In short, 2024 was a pivotal year in case worker effectiveness. Caseloads since COVID-19 had doubled and left case workers buried under inefficient case management systems that left their clients waiting in line, often overlooked and sometimes forgotten. New systems have refreshed both the case workers' outlook and their ability to deliver services where and when they are needed most.

Their unwavering commitment to serving vulnerable populations coupled with a proactive approach to addressing systemic issues, underscores the vital role case workers play in fostering social change and promoting individual empowerment.