I'll start with case management and my colleague, James, might want to talk about some of the policy work that is going on.
Case management is at the heart of our business in many ways. I want to stress that not all of the clients or veterans at Veterans Affairs are case managed; many people receive a monthly amount from us and are not case managed. Those who are case managed are the one in most need. These generally are people who are in rehabilitation. They and their family need that extra help to help them adapt to a world they may have been out of for some time. Of course, in the Canadian Forces, things such as medical...everything is taken care of, and then you are no longer wearing a uniform.
In terms of case management a couple of things we have done are very important. We've said that a case manager will have only 40 cases on average. Sometimes it is reported that people have thousands of cases; that is simply not true. As of last month, we were running an average of 33 cases per case manager, so we are well within our target.
This has to do with the streamlining I referred to, where we are giving greater delegation of authority to the case managers in the field. Under the old system, the old business processes, some cases had to be referred to a region, to headquarters, etc. That is not the case any longer. We have minimized the number of cases that would have to be referred up the line, as it were. They may be very difficult, very complex, so what that means to the veteran is that he or she can get the needed services and benefits much more quickly.
Also, to ensure that we have the right mix, if I can call it this, so that people are getting the right degree of attention, we're introducing what we call an intensity tool. For example, not all veterans in rehab have the same degree of challenge, if I might put it this way. To make sure we have sufficient resources, a sufficient number of case managers, we have developed an intensity tool, which we are rolling out. For example, to put it in practical terms, if you and I are both case managers in the same district and you have 40 cases that are at level 10 intensity and I have 40 cases at level 1 intensity, then our degree of challenge every day is not quite the same. We are trying to equip the case managers with the tools, the professional development training, they need because they are at the heart or focal point of helping our most seriously injured veterans to readapt and move forward with their lives in civilian society.
James.