Evaluating Social Work Practice: Case Study

Why is behavioral change said to be very important in evaluating social work practice? Behavioral change is important in evaluating social work practice because it is considered to be a major indicator of success.
2. Why may the direct measurement of behavioral changes be a relatively rare outcome measure in social work evaluation?
The direct measurement of behavioral changes may be a rare outcome measure in social work evaluation because although practitioners desire to see behavioral change, they are not focused on behaviors.
3. Why is the direct assessment of behavioral change not exclusively linked to behavioral interventions?
Direct assessment of behavioral change is not exclusively linked to behavioral interventions because behavioral
6. Describe any two guidelines for behavioral observation.
The two guidelines for behavioral observation that I will describe are conducting preliminary assessment and deciding how many behaviors to record. When the practitioner conducts a preliminary assessment, he or she will review the client concerns and gather information to begin helping the client work in that area(s) of interest. When the practitioner decides how many behaviors to record, their goal is to keep the process simple. One should not expect the individual recording the information to record more than two behaviors.
7. Distinguish between a time sample, a client sample and a situation sample.
When time samples are used, the goal is to observed the target at fixed or random times. Time samples are used more than any other type of sampling. The client sample is used with large amounts of clients. They allow practitioners to assess environments and programs that affect several individuals. When using client sampling, only a sample of individuals will be chosen to directly observe or observe by self-monitoring at a time. Situation samples is usually a direct observation and it occurs at a specific location where the client’s target behavior
What are some advantages of IRSs? Disadvantages?
Some advantages of IRSs include their flexibility, which allows for use with almost all clients and situations and their ability to not be too time consuming. Some disadvantages of using IRSs is that sources of behavior problems may not be assessed and consider standardize tests.
3. Pick a client target or issue of interest to you. Describe how you would construct an IRS dealing with this issue, with a client. Using your word processing system, draw out your IRS. Be detailed, and follow all the steps described on pp. 161-168.
The client target that I chose is a child who is afraid of the dark. First, I would ensure that being afraid of the dark is truly our focal point. In this case, I would even speak with the parent regarding the child’s fear of the dark. I would then select a rating dimension. I would choose the severity of the child’s fear of darkness. I would then select the number of response categories and choose numbers between 1- being not afraid to 5- being extremely afraid. I would make sure to create equidistant response categories and select rating scale anchors. Finally, I would construct my overall summary scores.
Problem: Fear of