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Building Evidence Based Field Agency Partners. Katharine Briar-Lawson University at Albany. 40 year agenda in social work education. Empirically based practice Clinician-scientists Agency based research and evaluation Field agencies as practice innovators Evidence based field units.
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Building Evidence Based Field Agency Partners Katharine Briar-Lawson University at Albany
40 year agenda in social work education • Empirically based practice • Clinician-scientists • Agency based research and evaluation • Field agencies as practice innovators • Evidence based field units
Capacity building • Moving from training to training/research/practice innovation partnerships with field agencies • Development of hub agencies to serve as the lead in key service sectors • Faculty-agency staff commit to fostering these evidence based partnerships
Design features • Evidence based briefs from literature and curriculum • Work plans for each agency hub • Faculty consultation on new practices, barriers, new service approaches • Training of staff and students • Evaluating best practices initiatives when discernable intervention evidence not available,evaluating model building
Infrastructure • Field office project coordinator • Resources for lead faculty, agencies • Doctoral student literature reviews • Multiple pilots: -Child welfare-Parsons Child and Family Services -Addictions-Clearview, St.Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center -Mental health-Capital District Psychiatric Center -Aging:TBA
Parallel Processes at SSW • Curriculum Committee reviews all practice courses for EBP • Ongoing review of definitions of EBP • EBP linked to cultural competence as school goal • Special supports for adjunct faculty • Ongoing attention to barriers
Current and Future Work • Grants when possible offer evidence based field units-e.g. EBP field units in full service schools • Innovation exchange across sites • Field Institutes provide forums for dissemination, exchange (practitioners, faculty, field instructors) • Website to feature evidence based briefs on addictions, child welfare, aging, juvenile justice/criminal justice • Use field seminar to introduce EBP into practicum
Challenges • Alignment with state agencies and their EBP priorities-may differ from field sites • Capacity to mobilize sufficient resources to address agency barriers • Casting initiative as developmental, barrier busting and very long term, ongoing feature of school-agency partnerships