casework

Casework is a professional approach that focuses on the direct handling of individual cases by practitioners in fields such as social work, public welfare, and related services. The aim is to support the needs of clients—often individuals, families, or households—through a structured, client-centered process that emphasizes assessment, planning, service delivery, and monitoring. Casework typically involves documentation, confidentiality, and coordination with allied services to address multiple determinants of well-being.

In social work, casework is a core practice model. Practitioners conduct interviews, gather histories, identify needs and risks, and develop individualized service plans. They may arrange housing, healthcare, education, or financial supports, advocate on clients' behalf, and monitor progress over time. Ethical considerations include autonomy, privacy, cultural competence, and informed consent. Case notes and case plans provide a record of assessment, goals, interventions, and outcomes.

Beyond social services, casework is used in public administration, health care, education, and the legal system to describe structured case management. Workers coordinate resources, track eligibility for programs, and ensure continuity of care or service delivery across agencies. The term can also refer to caseload management, where professionals handle a number of distinct cases within deadlines and performance standards.

In mathematics, casework is a proof technique that proceeds by dividing a problem into separate cases and proving each one. This approach is common when a statement depends on a limited set of possibilities, such as parity, sign, or case-based conditions, and is often accompanied by a summarizing argument that combines the case results.

Casework as a professional practice emerged with the development of social work in the early 20th century, emphasizing individualized attention and advocacy. Critics note that casework can be resource-intensive and may vary in quality; success often depends on inter-agency collaboration, organizational capacity, and ongoing evaluation.