SWK 682: Intervention and Evaluation Paper Competency 8: Intervene with Individu

SWK 682: Intervention and Evaluation Paper
Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Advanced generalist social workers incorporate and apply their understanding of diversity, social work values, and theories to effectively intervene with diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Advanced generalist social workers critically evaluate, select, and apply a variety of theoretically sound and evidence-informed methods of intervention for diverse clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Advanced generalist social workers utilize inter-professional collaboration, as necessary, to enhance and inform the intervention process. Advanced generalist social workers continuously self-monitor to minimize the effect of personal experiences and affective reactions on their ability to effectively intervene with diverse clients and constituencies. Advanced generalist social workers:
use a variety of multi-disciplinary theoretical frameworks and evidence-based approaches to select and implement interventions that fit the target of concern to achieve practice goals and enhance capacities of clients and constituencies;
actively participate in inter-professional collaboration as necessary, to enhance and inform the intervention process and to achieve beneficial practice outcomes;
intentionally include clients and constituencies as integral partners in the intervention process; and
discern when mutually agreed-on goals are accomplished and appropriately facilitate termination or transition.
Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Advanced generalist social workers incorporate and apply their understanding of diversity, social work values, and theories to effectively evaluate practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Advanced generalist social workers recognize the necessity of, and their role in the evaluation of practice processes and outcomes to advance effectiveness. Advanced generalist social workers apply qualitative and quantitative methods for evaluating outcomes and practice effectiveness. Advanced generalist social workers:
critically appraise research evidence to inform the evaluation process;
use a variety of designs to appropriately evaluate practice processes and outcomes;
incorporate and apply their understanding of diversity, social work values and ethics, and theories in the evaluation of outcomes; and
apply and disseminate information related to evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness at all practice levels.
The purpose of this paper is to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge, cognitive and affective processes, and skills required to identify, implement, and evaluate interventions as emerging advanced generalist practitioners within a field placement agency.
Students will create a paper that identifies a primary intervention used by their placement agency, describe existing evaluative practices of the agency, and create a supplemental or alternative plan for evaluating the intervention. This paper is expected to be written using correct APA 7th edition formatting. The paper uses the headings and topics as identified below:
Introduction (no heading)
In this section the student simply provides a very brief overview of the paper, and a very brief description of each of the following:
Placement agency
Name of agency: Greenvale Park Elementary School Northfield MN
Service scope of agency: Elementary school
Level of practice (micro, mezzo, macro)
Primary problem addressed by the agency (i.e. homelessness, substance abuse, medical needs, etc.)
Population Served: k-5
Characteristics of population(s) served (include demographic information, locale information, and any other pertinent descriptors of the population/clientele).
Include a one-sentence transition to explain what the reader can expect in the upcoming sections of the paper (e.g. The following sections will describe the intervention used at XX agency and will discuss the current evaluative process and an alternative evaluation plan for the identified intervention.)
Intervention (level 1 heading)
Intervention Identification & Description (level 2 heading) (1-1.5 pages suggested)
Students will select one primary intervention used by the agency to form the basis for this paper. Students will describe the intervention, including each of the following:
Identify the specific intervention and provide a brief description of how the intervention is implemented (i.e. positive behavior support (PBS); school faculty and staff reward positive behavior using daily announcements to increase positive behavior and decrease negative behavior)
Describe a minimum of two theoretical frameworks that are associated with the intervention (i.e. person in environment, ecological systems theory, Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, etc.)
Describe the evidence base for the intervention (what research supports the appropriateness/effectiveness of the intervention as pertinent to the agency’s scope of service and/or population)
Application of Intervention (level 2 heading) (2 pages suggested)
Students will describe how the intervention is implemented within the agency setting. In this section, students will include each of the following:
A brief explanation of how the intervention is implemented
A discussion of interprofessional collaboration that the agency uses to enhance the intervention process (if any -think carefully)
A discussion of how the agency empowers clients and/or constituents as integral partners in the intervention process
A discussion of the process by which the agency determines that the mutually agreed-upon goals associated with the intervention have been accomplished and when it is appropriate to end services
Reflections on the Intervention (level 2 heading) (1 page suggested)
Students will reflect upon the intervention used in the agency in terms of it’s effectiveness, the ways it is applied in the agency, the level of client involvement, and their own capacity as a future social worker to design and implement similar evidence-based approaches in their own future practice. In this section, students should consider the workforce required in the effort, how realistic the intervention is, and the evidence base for the given population, as well as any factors that might be improved given the knowledge gained in the sections above.
Evaluation (level 1 heading) (2-3 pages suggested)
Students will provide a description of how the agency evaluates the effectiveness of the described intervention. This should include:
A basic overview of the evaluation process (for example, does the agency use a satisfaction survey? Interview? Etc.)
Informed consent process
A description of the ethics and values that inform the process
Methodology used (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed)
Evaluation Design (i.e., single-subject case design, between groups comparison, pre-test/post-test, etc.)
Process of data collection
Description of the measurement instrument used (survey, interview, observation, etc.) including how it aligns with the evaluation design (does the instrument make sense given the evaluation design?)
Evidence base for the evaluation method described
Alternate Evaluation Plan (level 2 heading) (2-3 pages suggested)
Students will choose an alternate evaluation model to create a plan for evaluation of the identified intervention. This should include:
A basic overview of the alternative evaluation process
Informed consent process
A description of the ethics and values that must inform the process
Methodology to be used (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed)
Evaluation Design to be used (i.e., single-subject case design, between groups comparison, pre-test/post-test, etc.)
Process of data collection
Description of the measurement instrument to be used (survey, interview, observation, etc.) including how it aligns with the evaluation design (does the instrument make sense given the evaluation design)
Evidence base for the evaluation method described
Application of Evaluation Findings (level 2 heading) (1-2 pages suggested)
Students will think critically about how the results of the evaluation plan will inform practice effectiveness considering each of the following:
evidence based practice (how data from evaluation might inform future practice)
service delivery outcomes (how data from evaluation might improve or change outcomes)
transparency (how information would be disseminated to clients, the community, the public, and other stakeholders)
Reflections on the Evaluation (level 2 heading) (1 page suggested)
Students will reflect upon the evaluation plans, both of the agency and the alternate plan designed by the student in terms of its effectiveness, the ways it is and may be applied in the agency, the level of client involvement, and their own capacity as a future social worker to design and implement similar evidence-based evaluation approaches in their own future practice to improve practice effectiveness. In this section, students should apply their understanding of diversity and social work values and ethics as they relate to appropriate outcomes evaluations as well as theoretical frameworks related to the evaluation outcomes.