Exit procedure

When the client will leave your care, you might need to negotiate the case closure with them. They might not want to leave.

You normally need to provide a transition to whatever care they will need afterwards. This is most commonly a referral to another agency. (Of course, some clients don't need a transition because they don't need further care, or move away, or even abscond.) Find out who you need to speak with in the new arrangement and negotiate for the client to get anything they need, such as ongoing resources, services, programs and support activities. It is then up to you to make arrangements for your former client to make the move.

Transitions can be messy. Both the other agency and the client can drop the ball. Sometimes the transition needs to be done in such a way that the other party gains some level of trust, such as a personal introduction.

It is good practice to follow up later on, as long as you don't appear to tread on the toes of the other agency. Have a way of keeping in contact with your client and their significant others in the new arrangement. Negotiate an appropriate level of ongoing contact so that you can be sure their needs continue to be met. In some kinds of organizations, such as where people live in community, keeping up a friendship will be normal, natural, and easy. But

In any case, your organization should have a procedure for closure. It will probably include:

• Who the clients were referred to
• Recording what happened that brought about closure
• What levels of follow-up and ongoing contact you will have
• Anybody you need to inform and whether in writing or orally
• Negotiating the closure other agencies involved in the case.
• Any bills left to be paid
• Archiving of records

You might also want to keep statistics on clients so you can track their long-term performance. For example, in Alcohol and Other Drugs agencies need to know how successful they have been in preventing relapses.