History...

NACM was founded as a non-profit corporation in 1990 in conjunction with the first national case management conference held in Cincinnati .  The NACM founders were concerned that there was no professional association to encourage, train and support the emerging practice of case management. In 1990 case managers came from a variety of educational backgrounds , as they do today .  Then and now, v ery few colleges and universities prepare their students specifically for a career in case management. Yet, even in 1990, early evaluation of the burgeoning practice of case management was beginning to show positive outcomes for people served by case managers.  NACM's founders believed that it was critically important to both support and train case managers and to promote the practice of case management.

Following the Cincinnati conference, a national case management conference was held in 1993 in Philadelphia , with NACM as a co- sponsor. To date NACM has sponsored 14 national conferences, often with state or local co-sponsors. The fifteenth national conference is being held September 23 - 25 , 200 9, in Duluth , Minnesota , a wonderful city situated on Lake Superior and in a beautiful part of the state.

In addition to the NACM national conferences, NACM has engaged in many other activities to both inform and promote the practice of case management.  In 1995 NACM sponsored six "Fly-in" regional seminars at large airports , each attended by 60-100 case managers.  Also in 1995, with the support of the Community Support Program Branch of SAMHSA (see link to SAMHSA under "Links") NACM sponsored a National Forum, featuring professional and consumer experts in case management who presented and discussed papers on the role of case management in managed care settings.  In 1997, again with the support of The Community Support Program Branch of SAMHSA, NACM researched and published "Case Management Practice Guidelines for Adults with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (see Adult Mental Health Practice Guidelines on this website ). NACM also offers personal practice guidelines to promote an ethical basis for the practice of case management (see Personal Practice Guidelines on this website ).   In November 2004 NACM sponsored the first Supervision Seminar developed especially to address the expressed training and networking needs of case management and service coordination supervisors.  Due to the success of this first seminar, attended by over 85 supervisors from as far away as Alaska, NACM has presented 2-day supervision seminars in Indianapolis; Raleigh, NC; and Suffolk County, NY (see Supervisor Seminars on this website)
 

NACM National Conferences...

NACM National Conferences have been held in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Chicago, Orlando, Las Vegas, Nashville, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Louisville, and Washington, DC.  Between 600 and 1,000 case managers, service coordinators, resource coordinators and supervisors have attended each conference, choosing among 80 or more workshops, pre-conference i nstitutes, research symposia , and well-known and informative k eynote speakers. W orkshops include sessions targeted to case managers, service coordinators, and supervisors working with various populations, including mental /behavioral health, developmental disabilities, children, HIV/AIDS, and many sessions that have general application to a range of case management practice settings . An Awards Luncheon concludes the conference, during which XCEL Awards are presented to a case managers/service coordinator , supervisor, consumer case manager, and case management program nominated by NACM members for their achievements in the field (p lease see EXEL Awards section of the NACM Purpose page on this website). For information on the 2009 NACM conference click here (link to Annual conference page)
 

NACM Today...

While NACM 's origin al focus was case management in adult mental health /behavioral health , the organization quickly expanded to include case managers/service coordinators working in a variety of settings including child mental health, child and adult developmental disabilities, substance abuse and dual diagnosis, forensic mental health, HIV/AIDS, and older adults. To reflect this diversity, NACM changed its logo to read "NACM, A Professional Association for Service Coordinators, Resource Coordinators and Case Managers . "

The NACM Board of Directors reflects the same diversity . Board members have extensive expertise with many of the different populations that utilize case management or service coordination. (Please see the Board of Directors section of this website to become better acquainted with the NACM Board members.)

This highly involved and committed volunteer Board is eager for input and involvement from case managers, service coordinators, and case manager supervisors so that NACM will be a truly relevant and meaningful service to its membership.  Please look over the website sections, Membership , Getting Involved and Supervisor Seminars to learn about how you can become active in NACM, an Association created expressly for you, the practitioner.