Evidence-Based Practice in Community-Based Social Work, 2008-2013
The Center for Social Innovation (C4SI) partnered with CTI researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health to design and implement an eight-week online instructor-led CTI training curriculum.
For Phase I: 27 participants representing 21 agencies in 12 states were recruited for a pilot study. Evaluation involved pre- and post-course written evaluations and telephone interviews.
For Phase II: a randomized trial compared the online course that combined live and multimedia self-paced elements to the in-person training (see Mizuho grant above) provided by the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS) to train 179 providers from 19 agencies across the US and Canada. Both had a comparable curriculum and involved 24 hours of instruction. The in-person curriculum included telephone consultation to assist programs to implement CTI.
FINDINGS:
- The pilot study showed promising results in the areas of knowledge gain and retention for the 93% of participants who completed the course. (Olivet et al 2009)
- Within 30 days of completing the course, 80% actively began to implement CTI in their agencies. (Olivet et al 2009)
- Knowledge gains were significant pre vs. post training across both groups; both had comparable means. (Olivet 2013)
- Implementation rates were strong for both groups and higher for the in-person group (100%) than for the online group (78%). (Olivet 2013)
- Fidelity to the model, using the CTI Fidelity ScaleTM, was comparable across the two groups. (Olivet 2013)
Olivet, J., Johnston, S.C., Zerger, S. Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Evidence-Based Practice in Community-Based Social Work: A Multi-Media Strategy Final Report, October 7, 2013. Newton, Massachusetts: Center for Social Innovation.
Olivet, J. Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Evidence-Based Practice in Community-Based Social Work: A Multi-Media Strategy Final Report, February 28, 2013. Needham, MA: Center for Social Innovation.