Objective: This study examines the impact of the PC 3-sessions Training Project (PC-project), designed to improve professional competency among social workers in China. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental approach, 170 social workers from social work organizations (SWOs) or community organizations (COs) participated. The experimental group (Group…

Relevance of the problem stated in the article, conditioned by the fact that the successful adaptation of orphans in a foster family requires specialized knowledge and skills, as well as the need of professional support. Therefore, this article aims at substantiation of the effectiveness of the developed pilot program psycho-pedagogical support of…

In West Africa, advisory services for family farms have been promoted to better address producers' needs. The paper aims to show that these services can be understood as a system whose functioning is strongly determined by the financing mechanisms, the governance mechanisms put in place, the quality of human resources delivering advice, and the…

This article describes an initiative to evaluate the impact of educational psychologists' (EPs') casework. Previous studies have often focussed on evaluating processes or reducing outcomes to measurable units. The authors argue that qualitative research methods can be used to illuminate EP effectiveness. They describe a real world and…

Objective: To test the effectiveness of an in-training program for practitioners in public child welfare organizations. Method: The sample consists of practitioners (N = 945) working in youth centers or in local community service centers. Data are collected through self-administered questionnaires prior to and after the program. Results: The data…

Much has been made of the advantages of active support and person-centred planning, both of which have gradually been evolving and changing over the last 25-30 years. The latter is now mandated in the UK as part of the "Valuing People" strategy on disability (Department of Health UK, 2001), and is also central to the follow-up policy…

Kimberly Howard and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn examine home visiting, an increasingly popular method for delivering services for families, as a strategy for preventing child abuse and neglect. They focus on early interventions because infants are at greater risk for child abuse and neglect than are older children. In their article, Howard and Brooks-Gunn…

With the growing emphasis on accountability and evidence-based practice, evaluation has become increasingly important in the contexts in which educational psychologists (EPs) practice. This paper describes a Target Monitoring and Evaluation (TME) system, derived from Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) which was developed to evaluate outcomes of a wide…

Background: Active support (AS) was developed to help staff organise and deliver practical support for meaningful client engagement in everyday activities. Both the amount and momentary effectiveness of staff support for client engagement have been found to increase following AS training. Training typically consists of a combination of workshops…

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate active support (AS) training and to investigate changes to perceived engagement in domestic tasks, opportunities for choice, frequency of challenging behaviour, and level of support needs. Method: Participants were 12 adults with ID aged 27-57 years (M = 37 years) residing in three group homes, and…

Staff at a day program were trained in Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) strategies and techniques. The goal was to provide training that would allow staff at the centre to use communication strategies when working with their clients. Two training sessions were provided on AAC and communication strategies for all staff at the centre.…

Evaluates a new adoption placement program at the Ville Marie Social Service Centre (Montreal, Quebec) in which biological mothers can choose from among three profiles of adoptive parents when selecting a home for their babies. A review of staff observations is also described. (BB)

Summarizes the objectives, conceptual model, results, and implications of a project called Foster Care Training: A Comprehensive Approach, in British Columbia, Canada, which was designed to illustrate ways in which a networking model can provide increased support and training for participating foster parents. (BB)

Behaviour and Education Support Teams (BESTs) are multi-agency teams, which bring together a range of professionals, working to support schools, families and children (aged 5 to 18) who present or are at risk of developing emotional, behavioural and/or attendance problems. Teams include professionals from the fields of education, social care,…