Program Evaluation for Social Workers: Foundations of Evidence-Based Programs

Over the course of 20 years and eight editions, the goals of the book have remained the same: to prepare students to participate in evaluative activities within their organizations, become beginning critical producers and consumers of the professional evaluative literature, and reap the benefits of more advanced evaluation courses and texts. The authors aim to meet these objectives by presenting a unique approach that is realistic, practical, applied, and user friendly. Unlike other textbooks on the market, Program Evaluation for Social Workers presents both program-level evaluation and case-level evaluation methods; assuming that neither of these two distinct approaches alone adequately reflects the realities of the field, the book demonstrates how they can instead complement each other. This integration of approaches provides an accessible, adaptable, and realistic framework for students and beginning practitioners to more easily grasp and implement in the real world.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part I: Toward Accountability Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Approaches and Types of Evaluations Chapter 3. The Evaluation Process Part II: Evaluation Standards, Ethics, and Culture Chapter 4. Evaluation Standards Chapter 5. Evaluation Ethics Chapter 6. The Culturally Competent Evaluator Part III: The Social Work Program Chapter 7. Designing a Program Chapter 8. Theory of Change and Program Logic Models Chapter 9. Evidence-Based Programs Part IV: Doing Evaluations Chapter 10. Preparing for an Evaluation Chapter 11. Needs Assessments Chapter 12. Process Evaluations Chapter 13. Outcome Evaluations Chapter 14. Efficiency Evaluations Part V: Gathering Credible Evidence Chapter 15. Measuring Program Outcomes Chapter 16. Using Common Evaluation Designs Chapter 17. Collecting Data and Selecting a Sample Chapter 18. Training and Supervising Data Collectors Part VI: Making Decisions with Data Chapter 19. Using Data-Information Systems Chapter 20. Making Decisions Chapter 21. Effective Communication and Reporting Glossary References Credits Index

About the Author :
Richard M. Grinnell, Jr. is Professor and Clair and Clarice Platt Jones/Helen Frays Endowed Chair of Social Work Research in the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University. Peter A. Gabor is a Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Yvonne A. Unrau is Professor in the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University.