Abstract
Many clients who suffer from serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) are admitted to long-term residential facilities, like nursing homes, and often end up staying for years. Many studies have shown that case management helps them to achieve and maintain their highest level of independence however, clients often become ineligible to receive these services when they reside in nursing homes. This mixed methods study was able to get the perspective of nursing home social service personnel, who are often put in the primary role of assisting client’s discharge to more independent settings when case management is not available. The goal of the study was to find out if continued case management helps client’s discharge to more independent settings. The quantitative data showed a statistically significant relationship between case management greater than 90 days, and clients who had discharged, however it was a weak correlation showing that case management does not appear to have a strong impact on client discharge. The qualitative data showed how important case managers are to clients and social workers. The study showed that case managers who work in collaboration with nursing home social workers offer clients the best chance to successfully return to more independent settings.