Evaluation with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities.

Evaluation is recognized by social workers as an ongoing process when working with diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. The importance of evaluation is understood by social workers to help increase more efficient outcomes, practice, and delivery of services. Theories of human behavior and the social environment are used to evaluate practice and outcomes. When it comes to evaluation outcomes and practice effectiveness, social workers understand the importance of qualitative and quantitative methods. Evaluation allows social workers to see the needs in the community and evaluate if those needs are being met. By evaluating services, social workers can provide a change in what services are being given as well as the way services are being delivered to those in need. 

PRACTICE BEHAVIORS: 

9A – Select evidence-based evaluation strategies according to their efficacy with specific client systems.

Academic Evidence: Evaluations are so important when you are building and creating an organization. I learned this in my second Advanced Administrative class when we created staff and volunteer evaluations based on evidence-based strategies and examples we discovered in our research.

Field Evidence: While at the Chattanooga Autism Center, I was able to evaluate their evaluation method. I wrote up a paper titled Steps to an Effective Satisfaction Survey explaining what makes an effective evaluation to identify areas of growth and what is being done well. I presented this to my supervisor as an effective way to evaluate their services.

Other Evidence: During my first clinical class, I wrote a Self Evaluation Paper where I evaluated myself and my skills as a clinician. I evaluated a video of myself performing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to an individual. In this paper, I went through and corrected myself and was able to see how I could have done things differently and how to improve my practice in the future.

9B – Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of practice outcomes across systems.

Academic Evidence: When writing my final Self Evaluation Paper for my second clinical class with groups, I had to evaluate myself and my personal growth throughout the semester. I reflected on my skills as a practitioner and the effectiveness of my therapy skills. This taught me how important it is to constantly evaluate yourself to see how you can better yourself throughout your career.

Field Evidence: After I found out what makes a successful satisfaction survey, I took the one that the Chattanooga Autism Center has been using for years and evaluated its effectiveness. By doing this I was able to identify any gaps or changes that need to be made to better understand their effectiveness and the impact they are having on their clients and people they serve.