Provide a brief description of the role that yo

Megan

Research design

There are seven regional centers of a child welfare organization (Plummer et al., 2014). Three of the sites will implement the new training program immediately, and then the other four centers will continue with the old training program. But in 12 months, those four centers will implement the new training program (Plummer et al., 2014). The goals of the new training program include reducing foster placement disruptions, improving the quality of services delivered, and increasing child well-being through better trained and skilled foster families (Plummer et al., 2014). Since the participants are new foster parents receiving the training, there is no need to have a pretest measure because they have never had foster placements before. The group research design chosen is posttest-only control group design. This research design has no pretest before the intervention, has a control group, and requires randomization (Dudley, 2020). The people in the control group can receive no intervention or what is standardly given at that agency (Dudley, 2020). In this study, the control group will receive the usual training program for new foster parents. The clients could be randomly assigned which regional center they received training from. Another way that the randomization can be included is by randomly assigning which regional center gets what training program taught. This research method was chosen because what is being measured is the foster parent's knowledge. When knowledge is being studied, a pretest measurement can influence the outcome measurement (Dudley, 2020). That is because the pretest and posttest measurements would be the same to study the knowledge they have gained (Dudley, 2020). During the intervention phase, the problem is that participants could discuss the correct answers and then report those during the posttest phase, meaning the intervention would not be responsible for the improvements between the pretest and posttest (Dudley, 2020).

Outcome and data collection method

The outcome that will be studied is parenting strategies. That is because the main goal of the new training program is to produce better trained and skilled foster parents (Plummer et al., 2014). This outcome evaluation would be completed on self-reporting scales. Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale (KEPS), Challenging Behaviors Attribution Scale, and Emotional Responses to Challenging Behaviors Scale will study the new foster parent's parenting strategies (Rork & McNeil, 2011). Also, at the end of the training, the foster parents would be asked about training satisfaction by a modified version of the Therapy Attitude Inventory (Rork & McNeil, 2011). At the program's end, the participants would be asked to take the Spielberger Self-Evaluation Questionnaire (Rork & McNeil, 2011). Approximately six months after the end of the program, the participants would be asked to retake the Spielberger Self-Evaluation Questionnaire looking at parental stress since now they would have children in their homes.

Collection of the data

The person collecting the data would be an outside source for this outcome evaluation. That is because participants will not be able to be objective when it comes to the people providing the service (Dudley, 2020). So, the people providing the service should not be the ones giving the participants these scales. Another reason to have an outside person is that a program's results may not be interpreted fairly if the data analysis is done by people responsible for ensuring the program is a good one (McNamara, 2006). They will likely have a strong bias when trying to look objectively at the results and publicly report about the program (McNamara, 2006). Thus, someone other than an employee of the organization or someone who has a stake in the program's success, like the program manager, should complete the data analysis.

Dudley, J. R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.) Oxford University Press.

McNamara, C. (2006). Content of an evaluation plan. In Basic guide to program evaluation (including many additional resources). https://managementhelp.org/evaluation/program-evaluation-guide.htm#anchor1586742.

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work research: Planning a program evaluation. In Social work case studies: Concentration year. (pp. 66-67). Laureate International Universities Publishing.

Rork, K. E., & McNeil. C. B. (2011). Evaluation of foster parent training programs: A critical review. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 33(2), 139–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317107.2011.571142

Stacey

Research design and Data Collection Method

Joan is a social worker completing her dissertation on foster care programs. Joan's objective is to collect data to determine how a new training will reduce foster placement disruptions, improve the quality of services, and increase the child's well-being (Plummer et al., 2014b). Based on Joan's data, the "One-Group Posttest-Only Design" is appropriate for the study of foster care programs. The "One-Group Posttest-Only Design" collects data only after the implementation of the intervention (Dudley 2020). The One-Group Posttest-Only Design is beneficial because it helps identify if the program positively impacts its target population.

The data collection method most appropriate for this study is qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups. Non-numerical data is beneficial because they allow each participant (foster parent) to share their experiences on what can lead to child displacement in foster care. As depicted in the case study, the training offered foster parents educational skills to enhance the relationship between foster parents and children (Plummer et al., 2014b). According to Tutty & Rothery (2010), interviews allow researchers to gather data based on the individuals' experiences and ask open-ended questions.

Criteria to be measured and Data Collection

The "One-Group Posttest-Only Design will measure the expected outcome of the proposed intervention for foster parents. According to McNamara (2006a), outcome evaluations look at systems inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Joan presented an intervention that is likely to positively impact the outcome evaluation. The Parent and Family Adjustment Scale (PAFAS) is to great tool to measure parenting adjustments and relationships (Sanders et al., 2014). The following are criteria I would measure using the research design: 1), The displacement of children after their foster parent receives this training. 2) The children's overall well-being in identified foster care homes. 3) Foster parents' ability to apply their new skills to prevent child displacement from maintaining a strong relationship. The criteria will generate information on the effectiveness of the intervention. Outcome evaluation should have validity to ensure that the outcome is the expected outcome (Dudley 2020). According to McNamara (2006a), a data evaluation expert should collect the data presented in the interviews and analyze the data. Presenting an unbiased party to collect, analyze, and report the data will ensure the accuracy of the results. Therefore, a vested party in the organization such as Joan, her supervisors, or stakeholder should not interpret the data collected.

References

Dudley, J. R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.) Oxford University Press.

McNamara, C. (2006). Content of an evaluation plan. In Basic guide to program evaluation (including many additional resources). https://managementhelp.org/evaluation/program-evaluation-guide.htm#anchor1586742.

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work research: Planning a program evaluation. In Social work case studies: Concentration year. (pp. 66-67). Laureate International Universities Publishing.

Sanders, M. R., Morawska, A., Haslam, D. M., Filus, A., & Fletcher, R. (2014). Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS): validation of a brief parent-report measure for use in assessment of parenting skills and family relationships. Child psychiatry and human development, 45(3), 255–272.

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