Evaluation Research in Child Welfare: Improving Outcomes Through University-Public Agency Partnerships

by Briar-Lawson; Katharine

• ISBN13: 9780789020031
• ISBN10: 0789020033
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2003-05-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Since the 1980s, child welfare agencies and social work programs in more than 40 states have come together to address recruitment and retention issues by preparing social work students for child welfare practice--and to enhance the delivery of child welfare services. This book documents the outcomes of these partnerships to help you assess their value and sustainability! Evaluation Research in Child Welfare: Improving Outcomes Through University-Public Agency Partnerships is a critical examination of the diverse outcomes--and strategies for assessing them--of university/public child welfare agency partnerships designed to prepare social work students for public child welfare practice. This informative book addresses outcomes of these specialized training efforts which were supported by federal Title IV-E and Title IV-B Section 426 funds. Special attention is paid to programs addressing diversity and cultural competence through staff development. The book follows the process of tracking the career paths of students in several states (large and small, rural and urban), as well as cross-state collaborations that include university, agency, consumer, and student partnerships. From the Editors: Rising drug problems such as crack and cocaine addiction, along with co-occurring challenges such as poverty, domestic violence, and mental health issues, have helped to reinforce the need to have the most effective services delivered by the most well-prepared staff. Moreover, such challenges compel the most relevant, scientifically based approaches, requiring a closer connection of public child welfare systems to social work education programs and related academic disciplines. The articles featured in this book serve as progress markers for this re-professionalization initiative. They constitute snapshots of some of the current progress in workforce development, including social work based education, training, and capacity building in public child welfare. They also reflect social work/public child welfare partnerships and the lessons that are being learned when the research, educational, and service resources of schools of social work are harnessed to build a better trained work force that can provide improved services.” In this informative book, you'll find a national overview of historical efforts to promote professional social work practice in child welfare, as well as examinations of: special challenges presented by privatized systems curricula and agencies training opportunities that grow from research partnerships the importance and impact of racial and ethnic diversity for future social workers the cultural competency needs of BSW and MSW students the differing cultural perspectives of universities and agencies--which must be bridged to create successful partnerships the benefits of these partnerships in terms of outcomes for students, clients, agencies, and social work education programs

Table of Contents

Editorial	1	(4)
Preparing Social Workers for Child Welfare Practice: Lessons from an Historical Review of the Literature	5	(18)
Joan Levy Zlotnik
Transfer of Training: An Evaluation Study	23	(16)
Kathryn Conley Wehrmann
Hyucksun Shin
John Poertner
A Follow-Up of a Title IV-E Program's Graduates' Retention Rates in a Public Child Welfare Agency	39	(14)
Loring Jones
Career Paths and Contributions of Four Cohorts of IV-E Funded MSW Child Welfare Graduates	53	(16)
Sandra C. Robin
C. David Hollister
Child Welfare Knowledge Transmission, Practitioner Retention, and University-Community Impact: A Study of Title IV-E Child Welfare Training	69	(20)
Kristin A. Gansle
Alberta J. Ellett
Factors Influencing the Retention of Specially Educated Public Child Welfare Workers	89	(16)
Nancy S. Dickinson
Robin E. Perry
Tracking Process and Outcome Results of BSW Students' Preparation for Public Child Welfare Practice: Lessons Learned	105	(12)
J. Karen Brown
Nancy Feyl Chavkin
Vevelyn Peterson
Reducing Conflict Between Child Welfare Communities	117	(14)
Sandra Kopels
Jan Carter-Black
John Poertner
An Evaluation of Child Welfare Design Teams in Four States	131	(32)
Dawn Anderson-Butcher
Hal A. Lawson
Carenlee Barkdull
Examination of Racial Imbalance for Children in Foster Care: Implications for Training	163	(14)
Kathleen Belanger
Facing the Challenge of a Changing System: Training Child Welfare Workers in a Privatized Environment	177	(12)
Debora M. Ortega
Michelle M. Levy
Evaluating Federally-Funded Child Welfare Training Partnerships: A Worthwhile Challenge	189	(14)
Brenda D. Smith
Index	203