Training social workers to evaluate practice

Seven social workers underwent intensive training on how to use the procedures of single-subject design in practice. At the end of the one-year training period, the majority of them viewed their experience positively and planned to continue to evaluate their clinical work on their own. Three years later, however, none of the social workers were using the evaluation procedures in their present practice. According to their perception, the crucial factor that could have motivated them to continue on their own was agency support. This support should be expressed in the agency's policy to conduct evaluation, and in the provision of time and ongoing supervision that will enable social workers to combine clinical work with formal evaluation.