In this collective portrait, editors and authors do not attempt to draw systematic, country-by-country comparisons. Given the magnitude of the issues, they believed that it would be inappropriate to paint with too broad a stroke. What they have accomplished, however, is to codify and identify what the participants repeatedly noted in regard to issues and difficulties inherent in conducting outcome evaluation. These include: varying definitions of outcome; complexities in measuring outcomes of particular interventions with different groups of consumers and documenting the effectiveness of the intervention; the tendency to focus on evaluation of process more than outcome; the challenge of involving practitioners in the evaluation task, in part because its value is unclear to them or perceived as distant or untrustworthy; the typical inadequacy of resources available for systematic evaluation; and the need to inject rigor into the design and execution of evaluation projects. The authors demonstrate strong conviction about sharing research expertise across national boundaries; learning through each other how to cope with organizational impediments to cross-national collaboration; and strengthening the interaction between practice and research. Their contributions suggest that there is wide interest in pursuing cross-national collaboration. In recent years, largely in response to demands by their funding sources for accountability, assessment of performance, and cost effectiveness, researchers in human services have been devoting increased attention to outcome evaluation. Limited attention, however, has been given to the findings of evaluation studies conducted in different countries. The present volume has been organized and edited to address the task of learning from outcome research across the world. Its goal, an extension of a major goal of the human services in any one country, is to improve life chances of vulnerable children and youth. Anthony N. Maluccio is professor of social work at Boston College, Graduate School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Cinzia Canali is research associate at the Fondazione Emanuela Zancan, Padua, Italy. Tiziano Vecchiato is scientific director of the Fondazione Emanuela Zancan, Padua, Italy.
Publisher: CWLA Press (Child Welfare League of America)
ISBN: UOM:39015049501672
Category: Family assessment
Page: 404
View: 900
This book describes a study of the outcomes of home-based family preservation services for abusive and neglectful families in Los Angeles County. The research evaluated services of two voluntary agencies and focused on changes in family functioning between the opening and closing of services as well as during a year-long follow-up period after services were completed.
Category: Evaluation research (Social action programs)
Page: 88
View: 859
The primary challenge of delivering and evaluating family-based services lies in successfully assessing changes in families. This guide provides instruction for use of the Family Assessment Form (FAF), an instrument to help practitioners assess families at the beginning of service, develop individualized family service plans, monitor family progress, and assess outcomes for individual families. The FAF is designed as a standardized form that is adaptable for a variety of clinical, procedural, and program needs. Using a 9-point rating scale for individual items, the FAF enables practitioners to complete a psychosocial assessment of six areas of family functioning that is recorded in a quantitative manner and allows for monitoring family progress. The six areas of family functioning assessed by the FAF are: (1) living conditions; (2) financial conditions; (3) support available to caregivers; (4) interactions between caregivers and children; (5) developmental stimulation available to children; and (6) interactions between adult caregivers. The instruction guide provides a rationale for family assessment, details the development of the FAF, describes the FAF, provides information on training individuals to administer the instrument, describes the use of the FAF for program evaluation, discusses its test reliability and validity, and contains instructions for completing the FAF. A complete copy of the instrument is contained in the guide, including the "face sheet," the family functioning factors section, caregiver history and characteristics section, behavior concerns/observation checklist, and the service plan and closing summary. Contains 13 references. (KB)
Theories and Strategies of Family Therapy complements and expands upon the Family Therapy with the Experts video series produced by the same authors. Twelve major theories of family therapy are presented. Most are written by the experts who appear in Allyn & Bacon's Family Therapy with the Experts video series. Each chapter begins with a brief description of the theory and what makes it significant. The authors then delineate the clinical perspective and the way in which their approach deals with today's diverse family forms. The authors show how their theory is practiced by presenting ideas and then referencing sections in the corresponding video.
"This enlightening reference details the results of an extensive national study of federal and local policies and practices for the families of persons with disabilities. Beginning with a description of the key elements of family support initiatives and the characteristics of support programs, this probing text defines the goal of family support initiatives and explores how the relationship between beliefs and practices effects the achievement of that goal" -- Back cover.
Category: Evaluation research (Social action programs)
Page: 742
View: 499
Evaluating Practice comes with a free CD-ROM featuring numerous programs, including the unique and innovative SINGWIN program for analyzing single-system design data (created by Charles Auerbach, David Schnall, and Heidi Heft Laporte of Yeshiva University); the CASS and CAAP programs for managing cases and scoring scales (created by Walter Hudson); and a NEW set of Microsoft Excel Workbooks and interactive exercises. Book jacket.
As child and family interventions assume greater international application, it will be helpful to examine the various ways in which service innovations are being evaluated. As demonstrated in the seminar from which these chapters resulted, only by sharing our specific professional interests, our too frequent problems in measurement, our despair in implementing complicated studies, and our successes can we advance the evaluation of human services and their outcomes. This volume considers a variety of programs and issues in the field of child and family services. While different perspectives are evident among the authors in terms of their focus and/or emphasis, there is common concern about the value of examining each program or service so as to maximize its impact as well as its potential for dissemination. Intervention research should spur and motivate cross-national efforts not only among researchers but also among social workers and other practitioners from diverse professions engaged in the delivery of human services. Such collaboration would contribute to the ultimate goals of achieving greater clarity about the specifics of "best practices" in child and family services, protocols for assessing outcomes, and ways of improving service delivery. How then can researchers and policymakers in diverse settings within diverse countries improve practice and service delivery on behalf of children and families? What particular program findings can be generalized to improve services? How can we share and implement new solutions? The contributions to this volume address such questions from varying international perspectives. Contributors provide answers and generate discussion points for consideration by practitioners as well as researchers. The book is a must for social work parishioners in areas involving the delivery of goods as well as services. Tiziano Vecchiato is scientific director of the Fondazione Emanuela Zancan, Padua, Italy. Anthony N. Maluccio is professor of social work at Boston College, Graduate School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Cinzia Canali is research associate at the Fondazione Emanuela Zancan, Padua, Italy.
