Family Case Management

In 1993, the Illinois Department of Public Aid and the Illinois Department of Public Health Developed the Family Case Management Program to deliver case management services to all Medicaid eligible pregnant women and infants across Illinois in an effort to reduce infant mortality rates. Family Case Management is now administered under the Illinois Department of Human Services. The WHFS Family Case Management Program (FCM) helps families with a pregnant woman, infant or young child to obtain the health care services and other assistance they may need to have a healthy pregnancy and to promote the child's healthy development. The goals of the Family Case Management are to:

• Provide access to primary health care
• Identify and resolve access barriers
• Provide health education to all eligible clients
• Reduce infant mortality

FCM serves pregnant women and infants in families that are below 200% of the federal poverty level. Local FCM programs develop close working relationships with physicians, hospitals, pharmacist, and collaborates (and develops signed working agreements) with community agencies to address barriers in accessing medical services, child care, transportation, housing, food, mental health needs and substance abuse services. Case management providers are extensions of the local Department of Human Service Offices in that they serve as authorized agents for completing Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility (MPE) applications for pregnant women, and assist families in completing Kid Care applications for their children. The statewide Family Case Management Program funds 120 agencies, including health departments, federally qualified health centers and community-based organizations. The State of Illinois has focused on infant mortality reduction for more than twenty years.

Did you know that because of Family Case Management in Illinois, that there has been a significant improvement in infant health?

• 56% decrease in infant mortality among Medicaid-eligible families
• 62% decrease in low birth weight babies in Medicaid families
• 56% less chance for a very low birth weight baby
• Babies are 74% less likely to die before their first birthday

The Family Case Management Program (FCM) has integrated and collaborated with agencies throughout the community to formulate goals regarding the reduction of infant mortality and teen pregnancy. The program focuses on community prevention education. Information is available to our clients and the community at large, regarding the integrated services offered through our one-stop-shop health and human service center. FCM utilizes an in-house flow of service delivery which has been shown to reduce low birth weight and infant mortality, improve access to prenatal care, increase the use of well-child care, and increase immunization levels. Additional benefits are derived from case management and home visits such as: prevention of child abuse, improvement of parenting skills, reduction in subsequent unplanned pregnancies, improvement in school completion/retention among pregnant teens and reduction in high risk behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol, and drug use.