4/2/2015. Evidence-based practice stands in contrast to approaches that are based on tradition, convention, belief, or anecdotal evidence

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1 April Steen, LCSW Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) Doctoral Candidate Florida School Social Work Certification Clinical social work? school-based consultant? Prevention specialist? 31 U.S. states have a state certification Many states don t require master s-level training for school social workers to work in a school (Altshuler, 2006) w.sswaa.org/resource/resmgr /imported/naswschoolsocial workstandards.pdf School social workers shall conduct assessments of individuals, families and systems/organizations (namely, classroom, school, neighborhood, district, state) with the goal of improving student social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes Evidence-based practice stands in contrast to approaches that are based on tradition, convention, belief, or anecdotal evidence (National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices) School social workers shall understand and use evidence-informed practices in their interventions 1

2 No universal definition exists for the term evidence-based program Often used synonymously with researchbased and science-based Different meanings based on the organization defining them Specific criteria noted in the No Child Left Behind Act: Research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; data analysis adequate to test and justify the general conclusions drawn (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001, pp ) Measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and valid data across evaluators, observers, multiple measurements and observations, and studies Evaluated using experimental or quasiexperimental designs in which individuals, entities, programs, or activities are assigned to different conditions and with appropriate controls; and experimental studies are presented in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, offer the opportunity to build systematically on their findings; and has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001, pp ) Include: a strong theoretical foundation intended for a developmentally appropriate population quality data collection and procedures evidence of effectiveness For a program to show effectiveness, generally there must be strong evidence that the program results are the direct result of the activities of the program 2

3 Program- comprised of a set of coordinated services/activities that demonstrate effectiveness based on research. Criteria for rating as such depend upon organization or agency doing the rankings. EBPs may incorporate a number of evidence-based practices in the delivery of services Improved Parental And School Outcomes: parents and teachers use appropriate and effective discipline practices and praise and increased parental involvement in school and positive relationships between parents and teachers Practice An approach, framework, collection of ideas or concepts, adopted principles and strategies supported by research Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) SAMHSA s National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP) Blueprints for Violence Prevention Promising Practices What Works Clearinghouse Strengthening America s Families Center for Mental Health Services (2000) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Office of the Surgeon General Child Welfare League of America Design? Identify priorities of your school district Demonstrate how YOUR services contribute to AT LEAST one priority! increased parent involvement, improved linkages and collaboration with the greater community, increased school attendance Identify services provided that meet these mandates- document to the school board the importance of YOUR services to the school district For instance, the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act requires school districts to enroll and provide educational services to homeless students. Because of the kinds of challenges homeless families face, school social workers are clearly the ideal educators to help school districts meet this federal requirement 3

4 Calculate revenues YOUR services generate Most states base financial aid to school districts on student enrollment or attendance School social workers can use available state aid formulas (a school district business office will have this information) to actually calculate how much revenue they are generating for a school district Don t forget about Medicaid reimbursement for school-based services, grants and enrollment in free and reduced lunch programs What is already collected and available- USE IT Examine existing school records (e.g., attendance, detentions, graduation/dropout rates) before and after interventions to determine if changes occurred in any of these factors is a simple and straightforward method of outcome evaluation RTI is your friend! May already have something in place. Learn how to make it work for you. Key concepts: If your services target individual students, the data you choose to collect and use should be related to those same students If your services involve a school-wide intervention, then your chosen data should reflect school-wide changes (e.g., aggregate student data) Involve those who provide and gather the data. It s a team effort and you need to have buy in and support of all pupil services Make sure the variables you decide to evaluate are the correct ones Variables accurately reflect changes in the behaviors, knowledge, and/or skills the school social work service is designed to impact: Reduce truancy primary variable is school attendance More difficult: family interventions may not initially yield apparent changes in school performance look for variables that have consistently been shown over time through research to significantly impact student achievement (e.g., increased parental involvement, students eating breakfast prior to school on a regular basis) It holds true for evaluation, as well. You have a much better chance of demonstrating the impact of your school social work services if you are looking for changes in more than one variable and are gathering this information from more than one person or source Better off to clearly demonstrate a benefit valued by your school board than to have evaluation data a mile wide and an inch deep that can be easily dismissed or ignored You do not want to lose credibility with your audience, because once you do, you may find it very hard to regain 4

5 Are: Interventions used: Individual counseling 97% Group counseling 89% Classroom groups 70% Family therapy 17% Sessions with student & their teacher: 39% Theory and research suggest that people can increase their happiness through simple intentional positive activities, such as expressing gratitude or practicing kindness Kelly and Stone, An Analysis of Factors Shaping Interventions Used by School Social Workers Includes four stages: Identify the problem (i.e., pinpoint the problem in measurable terms) NOT the student is lazy; BUT RATHER, the student s rate of work completion is 40%, while the expectation is 100% Analyze the problem (i.e., consider student/instructional environment fit to generate hypotheses about causes) NOT the student must have a disability and needs to be tested because his/her rate of work completion is so low; BUT RATHER, the student has not mastered key skills; the work assigned is above his/her instructional level Select and implement an intervention (i.e., use evidence-based interventions to address the identified problem) NOT I ll provide preferential seating for the student near my desk; BUT RATHER, I ll use targeted curricular materials to supplement core instruction in the area of difficulty Progress monitor and evaluate effectiveness (i.e., use data-based graphing to monitor intervention outcomes) NOT anecdotal or intuitive tracking of intervention outcomes; BUT RATHER, graphing of percent of work completed on a weekly basis during the intervention period, compared to the 40% rate obtained at baseline, to determine if the intervention is effective 5

6 Intervention Central RtI Wire hp RtI Network Florida RtI National RtI All meta analysis are not the same Data pooled in a meta analysis shown as forest plots. Main understanding: confidence interval (CI) A forest plot shows the spread of results in each study. This one includes 7 trials of Scared Straight programs. Each horizontal line shows the results of one study. The length of the line goes from one end of the confidence interval to the other The vertical line in the middle is the point of no effect. If a study s results so much as touch that line, then the result is not statistically significant. If a result were completely to the left, it would mean the study showed a decrease in crime. But the combined result is on the right, showing it increased the crime rate 'Scared straight' programs increased the crime rate (Odds ratio, 95% CI, fixed effects model) The diamond at the bottom calculates a combined result with a statistical model. The diamond will be spread out and thin if there s not much certainty, but will get squat and big when the data are stronger eresearch.org/ideacenter/forest-plot-inexcel is.co.uk/metaanalysis.html com/watch?v=mnsr NPMZqH4 Kontopantelis E and Reeves D. MetaEasy: A metaanalysis add-in for Microsoft Excel. Journal of Statistical Software, 2009 Apr; 30(7):1-25" 6

7 What the student is doing and why it is a problem When the student successful (less likely to misbehave) When the student is less successful (more likely to misbehave) Why the behavior occurs (student benefit) Other factors contributing to the behavior? (e.g., attention, escape, etc.) Employ Stimulus control (cues, directions) Differential reinforcement Restitution with and without overcorrection Group contingencies (e.g., good behavior game) Self-monitoring, self management Establish a continuum of consequences Consider misbehavior a behavioral error Re-teach appropriate behavior Respond consistently and efficiently Observe the effects of behavior reduction strategy Respond early: avoid escalation, prolonged existence Know your resources! Share info and foster the relationships Leadership buy in school and department INTERNS!!! Professional groups Multi disciplinary resources Student Support Services Project Beliefs/Philosophies/Consensus Building Evidence-based practices for RtIB earch_briefs/2011/rand_rb pdf 7

8 Thank you so much for your time and attention today Thank you for your commitment to schools Please take a moment to complete the evaluation Feel free to keep in touch: April Steen steenmsw@yahoo.com 8