Evaluating Family-Based Services

by Pecora,Peter J.

• ISBN13: 9780202360935
• ISBN10: 0202360938
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-12-31
• Publisher: Aldine De Gruyter

Summary

Family-based service (FBS) programs have been developing rapidly across the country at a time of increasingly scarce human resources and in a politically volatile climate. Such a context has made evaluation of such programs imperative. The present volume reviews basic elements of evaluation in the light of current knowledge and then highlights the most useful research instruments for measuring changes in child and family functioning. Chapters focus on evaluation methods that can be employed to determine the success of existing policy and to influence the development of new policy.
A companion volume to Families in Crisis, this book will serve as a practical manual on FBS evaluation and a guide to current debates on research and policy for programs to support and strengthen families.

Author Biography

Peter J. Pecora is Manager of Research, The Casey Family Program, and Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Washington.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Evaluating Family-Based Services: Challenges and Tasks	p. 1
Evaluating Changes in Systems	p. 17
Designing Family-Based Service Program Evaluations	p. 23
Sampling Children and Families	p. 45
Assessing Services and Interventions	p. 65
Assessing Family Functioning	p. 91
Assessing Child Functioning	p. 117
Assessing Parent Functioning and Social Support	p. 139
Placement Prevention	p. 163
Measuring Program Efficiency	p. 179
Constructivist Research: A Qualitative Approach	p. 191
The Management and Impact of Family-Based Services Evaluations: Doing Research in the Real World	p. 215
A Sample Research Proposal	p. 235
Analyzing Findings and Writing Reports	p. 241
Social Policy and Evaluation: An Evolving Symbiosis	p. 261
Afterword	p. 277
References	p. 279
Index	p. 308
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