As the final competency, evaluation is the final tool used to determine the efficacy of our assessment and intervention on behalf of our clients, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Using evaluation to discredit the practice of on Social Worker over another is not the proper usage of this competency; instead, it would be wise to use evaluation to monitor the outcomes of interventions and see whether they align with the desired outcomes of the Social Worker and the client. Evaluation can be used to improve practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro level.
Practice Behaviors
- Be aware of appropriate methods for evaluation of outcomes.
- Discuss knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the evaluation of outcomes.
- Analyze, monitor, and evaluate intervention and program processes and outcomes.
- Discuss how to apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
Evidence
Academic Evidences
In the Fall semester of 2017 I completed a self analysis after conducting an interview on a pseudo client. This assignment helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses as an interviewer, my levels of comfort versus discomfort, and what I needed to improve before I completed my second self analysis.
In the Winter semester of 2018, I was given an assignment to write a Mini Grant Proposal for my Junior practice class: Practice with Groups. My practicum assignment at the time was with Bethel Bible Village, a group home for youth exhibiting behavioral challenges. With this assignment I was able to take a look at the way money was allocated to groups within the program: teen mothers, young boys choosing the group homes instead of juvenile detention, and children with general aggression and emotional disturbances. I saw the outcomes of teenagers who ‘graduated’ out of Bethel’s various programs, and determined the effectiveness of each. The grant proposal I wrote was to identify a benefactor for the teen mother program.
Field Evidences
As a part of the Social Work curriculum at Southern, students are required to journal about their weekly experiences at their practicum setting. The journal I have included is one which I found to be a turning point in my practicum. It was relatively early in the semester and I seemed to be having a challenging time with my practicum; after writing my journal for the week, I reviewed the content and realized I was too emotionally invested in the success of failure of the food pantry. In essence, this was my first self-evaluation.
