Social Work Practice Research for the Twenty-First Century

Social work professionals must demonstrate their effectiveness to legislators and governments, not to mention clients and incoming practitioners. A thorough evaluation of the activities, ethics, and outcomes of social work practice is critical to maintaining the public's investment and interest in the profession and to ensuring that underserved populations are well served.Incorporating the concerns of a new century into a consideration of models for practice research, this volume largely builds on the visionary work of William J. Reid (1928-2003) who transformed social work research through empirically-based and task-centered approaches-and, more recently, synthesized current intervention knowledge for framing future study. This collection reviews Reid's task-centered model and other contemporary Evidence-Based Practice models (EBPs) for working with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. Essays demonstrate the value of these pragmatic approaches as applied in U.S. and international settings. Contributors also summarize state-of-the-art methods in several key fields of service, including children and families, aging, substance abuse, and mental health. They evaluate the research movement itself, outlining an agenda for today's sociopolitical landscape and for the profession. This volume will inspire practice research to further the use of evidence as a base for the profession.