Evaluation, Termination and Follow-Up in Generalist Practice

Question 1

Definition of Evaluation:

Answer 1

“A process of determining whether a given change effort was worthwhile”

Question 2

evaluation is step _ in the Generalist Intervention Model

Answer 2

5

Question 3

evaluation is designed to determine the extent work was successful with a specific client; at the mezzo level want to know if groups met their goals and for treatment groups, if individual members met their goals; at the macro level may focus on whether entire programs accomplished their purpose.

Answer 3

At the MICRO level

Question 4

Answer 4

wowowowow

Question 5

Evaluation spurred by:

Answer 5

Demands for accountability
Interest in improving practice
“best practices”: ensures that we use knowledge that has been tested through some scientific rigour

Question 6

External Factors in Evaluation

Answer 6

Governments requiring proof their money (and our tax dollars) was being put to good use
Assurance that the money was accomplishing intended purpose
Users of the service have right to know about program effectiveness

Question 7

Obstacles to Evaluation

Answer 7

Worker’s themselves: don’t want to know if their work is effective – heightens vulnerability
Workers often too busy for formal evaluation
Many agencies do not emphasize its importance – involves time and resources
Social workers lack training in evaluative measures

Question 8

The Evaluation Process

Answer 8

Typically evaluations have one of two major thrusts: 1) monitor the ongoing delivery of a program or service (process of giving service), and 2) assess the outcomes of an intervention or program (effectiveness of service)

Question 9

Formative Evaluation means

Answer 9

ongoing with focus on the process of providing service; can assess if anticipated progress is being achieved and whether the program or service is proceeding as planned

Question 10

Summative Evaluation means

Answer 10

occurs at end of helping process with focus on whether or not anticipated outcomes have been achieved

Question 11

Baseline means

Answer 11

measure of the frequency, intensity, or duration of a behavior

Question 12

Validity means

Answer 12

“the extent to which you are measuring what you think you are measuring”

Question 13

Reliability means

Answer 13

the extent to which an instrument measures the same phenomenon in the same way each time the measure is used”, produces consistent results over time

Question 14

Independent Variable means

Answer 14

factor believed responsible for causing certain behaviors, reactions, events such as your intervention

Question 15

Dependent Variable means

Answer 15

results or outcome of the independent variable, such as outcome of an intervention

Question 16

Generalizability means

Answer 16

the ability of a set of results in one situation to fit another circumstance or instance

Question 17

Commonly used methods include surveys, scores on instruments, interviews, collected data, and observations
Desirable to use multiple measures—triangulation are ____

Answer 17

Data gathering methods

Question 18

Name assesment tools

Answer 18

Valid and reliable instruments already developed for many issues

Question 19

Example of valid and reliable instruments

Answer 19

For example:
Primary Communication Inventory (PCI)

Question 20

Single-Subject Designs

Answer 20

research methods aimed at determining whether or not an intervention was successful, most simple is the AB design, with A representing the pre-intervention state and B the intervention

Question 21

what is this

Answer 21

single subject design

Question 22

_________ is used when achievement of goal is used as the primary outcome criterion and where goal doesn’t lend itself to the kind of charting associated with single-subject design such as counting behaviors, goal attainment is rated based on degree to which goal was attained; could use 4 or 5 categories of goal attainment from least favorable to most favorable outcome

Answer 22

Attainment Scaling

Question 23

Attainment Scaling is

Answer 23

used when achievement of goal is used as the primary outcome criterion and where goal doesn’t lend itself to the kind of charting associated with single-subject design such as counting behaviors, goal attainment is rated based on degree to which goal was attained; could use 4 or 5 categories of goal attainment from least favorable to most favorable outcome

Question 24

Task Achievement Scaling

Answer 24

used to evaluate the degree to which tasks have been accomplished, typically use a 5 point scale ranging from 4 ‘completely achieved’ to 0 ‘no opportunity to work on task’

Question 25

Client Satisfaction Questionnaires

Answer 25

assess client’s reactions to interventions, can be used at worker level and at program/agency level, can help identify problems with how services are being delivered

Question 26

Target-Problem Scaling

Answer 26

allows you to measure if the identified problem has changed in severity or seriousness over time, problems are rated by degree of severity using a scale, e.g., 1=worse to 5=a lot better or NP=no problem to ES=extremely severe

Question 27

Needs Assessment

Answer 27

form of front-end analysis to identify unmet needs, gaps in service, and extent to which a program is needed)

Question 28

Evaluability Assessments

Answer 28

used to assess if a program can be evaluated and agency readiness for evaluation…may point to need for agency changes to allow future assessments

Question 29

Process Analysis

Answer 29

or formative evaluations, used to evaluate the way interventions in the agency are carried out

Question 30

Program Outcome Analysis

Answer 30

used to assess if a program is working based on planned program outcomes, may also assess cost effectiveness

Question 31

Continuous Quality Assurance Evaluations

Answer 31

focus on measuring attainment of previously identified program goals in terms of outcomes of interventions and factors related to delivery, e.g., timely completion of paper work

Question 32

Program Monitoring

Answer 32

ongoing activity designed to provide information to the agency on all aspects of its operation, many types of data may be collected, e.g., client demographics, presenting problems, services provided

Question 33

Problems in Evaluation

Answer 33

Problems in Generalizability (need a representative sample)
Wrong Choices in Evaluation Tools
Failure to Involve Clients in the Evaluation Process
Staff Distrust of Evaluation
Evaluation Process Interferes with Service Giving
Alternative Explanations of Program Outcomes
Unanticipated Consequences

Question 34

Alternate Explanations for Outcomes

Answer 34

History (any event that occurs prior to the end of the intervention that could impact upon outcome)
Maturation (as client ages behaviors change)
Mortality (participants drop out of program, should be factored in with clients who failed to attain goals)
Creaming (taking only the very best candidates for the program, so may get higher success rate than if similar candidates in the population were included)
Regressions toward the Mean (tendency for high scores to move toward the mean on subsequent testing)
Reactance (reaction or change in behavior that occurs simply because of a new situation or environment, such as an observer)

Question 35

Termination Defined

Answer 35

The end of the professional social worker-client relationship

Question 36

Termination is step

Answer 36

6

Question 37

Answer 37

name the steps

Question 38

what are some tasks of termination

Answer 38

Deciding when to terminate the worker-client relationship
Evaluating the achievement of goals/objectives
Evaluating the services provided by the agency and/or worker
Maintaining and continuing progress (generalizing or stabilizing change effort)
Resolving emotional reaction of the worker and client
Making appropriate referrals

Question 39

Stabilization of Change

Answer 39

1) Help clients select relevant and appropriate situations to work on
2) Help clients build confidence in their own abilities
3) Use multiple situations and settings when helping members learn new behaviors
4) Using naturally occurring consequences rather than creating artificial ones
5) Extending treatment through use of follow-up sessions
6) Reduce setbacks in other environments
7) Helping members confront future problems by teaching them a problem solving process

Question 40

Client follow up

Answer 40

Follow-up Defined: “The act of acquiring information about a client after termination. It is usually focused on how the client is functioning in those areas that originally brought the client in for assistance.”

Question 41

client follow up is step

Answer 41

7

Question 42

why client might not maintain changes

Answer 42

Easier to slip into old patterns than maintain new ones
Environments may not be supportive of new changes
New behavior not established long enough to become the norm

Question 43

reasons for doing a follow up

Answer 43

Finding out if the client is functioning without intervention
Determine if the intervention worked
Offering assistance if the client is having difficulty
Also can get feedback on helpful and perhaps unhelpful aspects of social work service