Keeping Pace with Current Practice

Abstract

A quantitative study funded by the U.S. Children's Bureau as part of a national Child Welfare Faculty Development Program evolved over three years into a revealing qualitative narrative, with a secondary quantitative component. Most salient were the unintended effects of both managed care and privatization of state government on the feasibility of implementing a carefully designed project. These rapidly changing practice trends were incorporated in teaching a MSW research methods class through the use of a poignant case example, which facilitated clear integration of research, practice, policy, and child welfare.

Key Words:

• Social work education
• research methods
• privatization
• managed care
• case study
• child welfare
• social work practice
• organizational context