Attachment and Rules

The impact that could be made with endless money and resources is profound.  If you were the one with the money and resources, would you make conditions on using them or are they free to everyone?  Is there a limit on how much one person can take?  If you take something, do you have to give something back in return?

I obviously don't volunteer in a world with endless money and resources, especially since my service site is a small non-profit.  A lot of our programs come with attachments because we choose to use case management with our clients.  Our case management includes setting goals, mapping out how to reach those goals, tasks the client completes to help reach their goals, budgets for any income, and scheduled check-ins with a case manager.  The client and the caseworker sign an agreement about case management and what each party is responsible for.  Our clients know we are not asking them to be perfect, but we do ask them to try and to communicate.  If the client is going to miss a scheduled check-in, we ask that he or she calls to cancel.  If homework that we give him or her is not going well, we try to work on it together.

There are consequences for clients that don't follow through and/or communicate.  As a case manager, I don't want to see anyone fail.  I want to have the resources, money, time, willpower, and whatever else it takes to see each person that comes into our office succeed.  Life doesn't work that way, but what I do have are rules or "attachments" that need to be followed.  It's hard to tell a client they can't get a lunch because they missed their appointment and didn't call. It's hard to brush off their anger towards you and not take it personally.  It's easy to give in and say, "Just this one time," but that doesn't teach the client anything except they don't have to follow through.  When the client does reach their goal of getting medical insurance, the doctor is not going to see them when they walk in 48 hours late to their appointment without rescheduling.  When the client reaches their goal of finding a job, they have to be on time and show up when they are supposed to.   It's fantastic when you see your clients reach their major goals, but it's also great to see them learn new skills and grow as a person on the journey.