Social Work Evaluation Enhancing What We Do

Social workers are increasingly faced with the demands of evaluating their own programs and practice to maintain accountability to funding agencies, secure funding, and remedy a number of social problems facing our society. One of the nine basic competencies required by the social work accreditation agency is to be able to conduct evaluations. Evaluation is a critical area of practice for demonstrating accountability to clients, communities, numerous other stakeholders, and funding and regulatory agencies.

Social Work Evaluation, Third Edition, offers a straightforward guide to a broad range of social work evaluations at both the program and practice levels. Author James R. Dudley’s seven-step approach to evaluation makes use of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research methods to provide oversight and address important issues at the planning, implementation, and outcome stages of a program or practice intervention. His unique focus on involving clients in the evaluation process ensures that social workers consistently improve their capacity to impact their clients’ well-being and remain accountable to them and others they serve. Case examples from the extensive evaluation experience of the author and others illustrate a wide range of logic-based methods discussed throughout the text for real-world application. This comprehensive text effectively aims to enhance student and practitioner skill sets to meet these demands of a changing field.