by John Paul Kemp

Understanding the Past

In order to understand the future of case management, it is useful to examine the past. This story evolves around two primary issues that compete for attention:

1. Delivery of Case Management to the Desktop and Its Integration into the Office

2. The Functionality of the Case Management

Like buzzwords in legal services, these two issues exchange positions in peoples’ minds. Yet, both are essential and inseparable.

1. Delivery to the Desktop

Early questions about case management software centered on what computer and what operating system it would use. Some operating systems, such as CPM, held out unrealized promises of standardization. There seemed to be as many operating systems and unique computer brands as there were leaves on the trees. Early advice from this period cautioned users to choose the software first, then choose the computer.

This changed when IBM and Intel entered the market with the PC. Its design was an open system, which allowed many manufactures to produce clones. Because these clones followed a standard (however loosely), it became practical to program a case management system that would work on more than one computer system in one office.

For a while, it was not clear if there would be a successful challenge to the PC standard by Apple’s Macintosh. However, the flood of clones was just too irresistible. More recently, the PowerPC chip challenged the PC, but also failed.

The operating system, which links the software to the hardware also evolved. DOS went through many modifications until it mutated itself into the Windows program we use today.

During the early days, there was also the issue of how the program would be written and what format the data would be stored in. Some developers decided they would design their own database engine using a language such as Pascal. In the process, they also designed their own file formats. This was similar to designing your own engine when building a car. Many times, it was very difficult to convert or use the data from these old systems with any other software.

This changed with the arrival of Ashton-Tate’s DBASE and similar database systems. These programs allowed programmers to concentrate on what the software did rather than on how it worked. These software programs provided languages that allowed the creation of easier to use software that included software to export the data to other formats.

It was during this period that people decided that case management would be more useful if more than one person used it. The way to do this was to use a local area network (LAN). This caused another host of problems for programmers, as there were few standards as to network cards, networking operating systems and the way to have more than one person operate the database system at a time.

This gradually worked itself out so Novell became the standard with Ethernet cards. Windows NT/2000 has since surpassed Novell as the standard network operating system. Ethernet has increased in speed from 10 Megabits to 100 Megabits and beyond.

Many offices, after seeing the benefit of using a case management system in one office, then decided to share the information between offices. This was handled, at first, by disk transfers and email. Automated database replication, that occurs nightly, also allows the sharing of data. Centralized intake, hotlines, co-counseling and the need for multi-office conflict checking all demand real-time access to case management information. The satisfaction of need adds another level of complexity. This is because the solution requires the use of a wide area network (WAN) with routers and/or the Internet.

The other solution is the Application Service Provider (ASP) that provides access to case management through an Internet Browser. This allows using case management from any location on virtually any computer, as long as you have an Internet connection of sufficient speed.

Bandwidth availability and costs are the current obstacles to the widespread use of these solutions. It is expensive to send data at high-speed between offices on leased lines, if the option is even available in rural offices.

Office equipment is becoming more versatile and smarter. This is because small computers are built into this equipment. FAX, printers, copy machines and telephones are gaining the ability to speak together and exchange information. Video conferencing is also becoming possible between advocates and with clients. Case management has to be part of this integration process.

2. The Functionality of Case Management

It is easy to be caught up in the delivery to the desktop questions to the degree that you lose sight of what is delivered. This portion of the story concerns the migration of the power from the administration to advocates.

Early case management was purchased by the administration to prepare the CSR (case statistical reports). This meant people would spend hours plugging data into the system and get little or no help with advocacy in return.

Gradually, people began to see the value of having case management on the desks of more staff. Advocates, PBI Coordinators and Support Staff all were attracted to its features.

The ability to calendar, keep case notes, generate form letters, do time keeping, access questions to ask clients, get advice on how to handle particular types of cases appealed to advocates. PBI coordinators were attracted by the ability to keep track of their panels of volunteer attorney’s and the status of the cases referred out. Being able to track trust funds by computer, eased bookkeeping burdens. Services were expanded by having the ability to find non-legal agencies to help or supplement the legal help provided by advocates.

Interfaces also became easier to use. Moving from the command prompt, which required the user to type in specific words, case management software has become an environment where users push imaginary buttons and turn imaginary pages. Gone is the day when one needed to be a programmer to get useful information out of the computer. Software, like automobiles, does not have to be understood to be driven.

Computers are exchanging data with other pieces of office equipment. This trend is mirrored in software, where different types of software are exchanging information. The ability of case management to do document assembly, transfer information to other formats, and move information to and from a word processor makes it more functional.

The current popular issue dealing with case management is how to share information between offices. This issue will be resolved, like it was with local area networks. Once it is resolved, the focus in case management will shift back to the software interface and the work it does for the office.

Seamless Intake as a Unifying Concept

Seamless Intake is an objective, not a particular arrangement of offices or technology. Seamless Intake is a statewide environment in which a low-income person with a legal problem can contact any legal services office to arrange the help they need (or be told they are ineligible). It seeks to avoid a situation where the person has to make multiple calls or visit multiple locations, with the attendant inconvenience, cost, or risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Seamless intake requires a unified effort that combines software and hardware solutions to provide a coordinated, statewide intake system. This can involve a single statewide program or multiple programs working together. Technology allows the intake to be centralized or distributed. Having the programs share the same database structure greatly simplifies this task. Having the ability to share the information in a timely matter, by use of a WAN, ASP or Replication, is also critical.

The Future

Kemp’s Case Works has always been in the forefront of providing solutions to legal services offices and their computer needs. We currently provide case management for offices that range in size from two people to over one hundred and eighty. Some of our clients have one office, others over thirteen. Our case management is available for operation on a standalone computer, LAN, WAN, or Internet (ASP) system.

Copyright © 2002 All rights reserved Kemp's Case Works, Inc.