Developing an Empirically Based Practice Initiative: A Case Study in CPS Supervision

Developing an Empirically Based Practice Initiative documents practice techniques that were used during a three-year training/demonstration project for child welfare supervisors working in the frontlines of child protection services in the Southeastern United States. This unique book is a guide to combining research methodology with staff training to enhance the quality of evidence-based practice in the field. The book examines techniques that were used in training modules in four states, highlighting practice models and intervention outcomes from an evidence-based perspective.

Developing an Empirically Based Practice Initiative includes details about the project from the federal perspective (The Children’s Bureau) and the operational implications at the Southern Regional Quality Improvement Center (SRQIC) level. The book examines the issues of providing technical research assistance to child welfare agencies and the complexities of cross-site evaluation with different political jurisdictions.

Developing an Empirically Based Practice Initiative examines:

• The Children’s Bureau discretionary grant program
  
• the relationship between child welfare workers’ career plans and their abilities to accomplish core work tasks
  
• secondary traumatic stress (STS) in child protective services workers
  
• methods for monitoring and evaluating child welfare supervisors
  
• clinical decision-making as a tool for building effective supervision skills
  
• the use of outcome data for decision-making
  
• the development and implementation of the Tennessee project
  
• the use of “360-degree” evaluations to improve clinical skill development
  
• the Intervention Design and Development model

Developing an Empirically Based Practice Initiative is an invaluable aid for social work practitioners, child welfare workers, case managers, and supervisors, and for social work academics and students.