Purpose: Protecting children from mistreatment is a global concern, and further research and evaluation in child protection services is required. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) has demonstrated potential, but to date, there is no systematic review of studies that evaluate the application of CQI in child protection. Method: This systematic…

Implementation is posited as a multiphasic process, influenced by a range of factors, within a multilevel context. While there appears to be a general consensus that every implementation initiative will have a unique combination of influences that vary in importance across the implementation phases, leadership is an essential tenant throughout…

Objectives: Although Housing First (HF) is a popular evidence-based intervention for persons experiencing homelessness and mental illness, research exploring its sustainability over time is scant. This mixed methods study captures practitioners' perspectives on key shifts in implementation of Housing First in a large urban center, and factors…

This paper is a reaction to Marsiglia and Booths' paper, "Cultural Adaptation of Interventions in Real Practice Settings." In their paper, Marsiglia and Booth present the difficulty of implementing and replicating evidence-supported treatments, such as randomized clinical trials, among culturally diverse clients. Practitioners working in…

Objective: This study examines whether the psychometric properties of the short version of the Evidence-Based Practice Process Assessment Scale (EBPPAS) remain satisfactory when translated and transferred to the context of Swedish welfare services. Method: The Swedish version of EBPPAS was tested on a sample of community-based professionals in…

Integrating practice and research is vital in all helping professions in order to offer the most ethical, evidence-informed interventions to clients. This article describes some avoidable distractions that hinder integration, discusses controversies related to integration, and describes options for moving forward, including making wasted resources…

Objective: We examine how frontline workers and supervisors delivering a research-supported intervention (RSI) to reduce child neglect negotiated system-related challenges, the pragmatics of RSI implementation, and their professional identities and relationships with clients. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews, small group…

Objectives: This study assesses social workers' orientation toward the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and explores which specific variables (e.g. age) are associated. Methods: Data were collected from 341 Dutch social workers through an online survey which included a Dutch translation of the EBP Process Assessment Scale (EBPPAS), along with…

Objective: Increasing rates of mental health needs in child welfare clients highlight the importance of training child welfare workers in effective mental health interventions. This pilot study evaluates the effects of training public child welfare workers and interns in modularized research-supported treatments (RSTs). Methods: We compared…

This keynote address discusses previous and ongoing efforts to reduce the persistent gap between research and practice in social work and offers recommendations for further bridging that gap. Key among those recommendations is the need to conduct descriptive outcome studies of efforts to adapt research-supported interventions in everyday practice…

Examples of behavioral interventions that are efficacious in the research setting as well as practical and translatable to the "real-world" are critically needed as models for social work researchers and clinicians. This article presents the Changing High-Risk Alcohol Use and Improving Contraception Effectiveness Study (CHOICES)…

Objective: This systematic review examines experimental studies that test the effectiveness of strategies intended to integrate empirically supported mental health interventions into routine care settings. Our goal was to characterize the state of the literature and to provide direction for future implementation studies. Method: A literature…

The widespread adoption of research-supported treatments by mental health providers has facilitated empirical development of quality assurance (QA) methods. Research in this area has focused on QA systems aimed at assuring the integrity of research-supported treatment implementation, while examination of QA systems to assure appropriate…

Ronald Hughes and his colleagues have written a groundbreaking article on child welfare's use of differential response. Their research addresses the matter from a "lessons learned" and "ways to improve" approach. Our comments focused on three key issues: (1) the importance of evidence-based practice; (2) the recognition…

The article reports on the findings of a review of empirical studies examining the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) in the human services. Eleven studies were located that defined EBP as a research-informed, clinical decision-making process and identified barriers and facilitators to EBP implementation. A thematic analysis of the…