Competency 9
Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Practice Behaviors
- Select and use appropriate methods for evaluation of outcomes.
- Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the evaluation of outcomes.
- Critically analyze, monitor and evaluate intervention and program processes and outcomes.
- Apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness at the micro, mezzo and macro levels.
Evaluating practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities as an ethical social worker means that I will work to analyze the systems, intervention methods and models that agencies are using to serve their clients. In becoming a competent social worker, it is important to continually evaluate the practices that are being used with our clients to ensure that they are providing good results and that we are serving our clients with the best intervention methods possible.
Evidence 1 (Class):
For my Social Work Practice with Communities and Organizations class, I evaluated an agency called Family Promise of Bradley County. I was in a group with two other teammates and we were able to evaluate what is working well in the agency and also what could be improved on. This gave me a chance to critically think about the agency and the population they are serving and implement knowledge that I have learned from other classes as well as my own field placement agency, DFCS in Catoosa County. To read the full paper, click here.
Evidence 2 (Field):
For my field placement agency, DFCS in Catoosa County, I was able to complete the Practicum Analysis Project. This project worked to evaluate the COVID-19 epidemic and discuss how the agency was effected, how it effected service delivery, as well as what persuasions were put in place as a result of COVID-19. This gave me a chance to look at every aspect of just how much COVID-19 has effected DFCS in Catoosa County as well as other similar agencies. To view the full project, click here.
Evidence 3 (Additional):
For my Social Work Practice with Individuals class, I got the opportunity to write process recordings based on interviews that I did with pseudo-clients. These process recordings gave me a chance to re-look at what the client said as well as what I said to then evaluate my skills and see what I could have done differently. This process allows me to work on improving my interviewing skills and allows me to become more self-aware of my verbal and non-verbal actions. To read a process recording, click here.
Skills Used:
For this competency, I used organization skills, critical thinking skills, active listening skills, and communication skills.
Knowledge Used:
For this competency, I was able to use knowledge learned in the classroom from classes such as Interviewing Skills, Social Work Practice with Individuals, Social Work Practice with Groups and Families, and Social Work Practice with Communities and Organizations. This knowledge helped me evaluate my own skills, the organization we evaluated, as well as the intervention methods used at DFCS. I was also able to use knowledge from my field instructor and other individuals at DFCS regarding information on intervention methods and models. Last, but not least, I was able to use personal experience knowledge and my own observation to help evaluate the agency’s intervention methods and my own skills.
Values Present:
For this competency, the value of service was present in the evaluations that I did. Service was present because as social workers, we should strive to continue evaluating and finding ways to improve our skills and our intervention methods to provide better service to our clients. The value of social justice was also present in evaluating different agency interventions at DFCS as well as evaluating Family Promise of Bradley County to find where social justice can better be promoted in providing diverse, quality care for the clients that we serve. By doing evaluations, we recognize that each person has dignity and worth and deserves the best possible care and intervention methods available to them.
Cognitive Processes Used:
For this competency, I had to list and define the different intervention methods that are used at DFCS, analyze my own skills, the intervention methods at DFCS and Family Promise of Bradley County. I was able to compare and contrast the intervention methods used at DFCS and propose ways to improve these intervention methods.
Affective Processes Used:
For this competency, I was able to examine my skills when working with individuals and review intervention methods that are being used at Family Promise of Bradley County. I was also able to contribute to DFCS by justifying ways that their intervention methods can be improved.
Theoretical Foundation:
Selective Exposure Theory. This theory states that after decisions are made, people try to avoid thinking that maybe the wrong decision was made. It is important to remember this theory when evaluating different agencies and intervention methods. Many times even if the agency knows that an intervention method or policy that was implement is not doing what they thought it was going to do, they avoid thinking about that it was the wrong decision to implement it. This is why evaluation is so important. It helps to make sure implemented intervention methods, procedures and policies are serving clients effectively.