This book bridges the gap between social work knowledge and empirically based practice. Although there is a significant need for the use of empirically tested and verified knowledge in social work practice, the empirical basis of support is nearly absent from practitioners'considerations as they make clinical decisions in routine practice. The authors advocate the development of readily available, accessible, and professionally sanctioned practice guidelines for use by practitioners, a necessity in the age of managed care and demands for greater accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency in practice. This book features a much-needed discussion of racial and ethnic differentials in relation to practice guidelines and on the relationship between practice guidelines and different aspects of service delivery.

Practice Guidelines and the Challenge of Effective Practice, by Aaron Rosen and Enola K. ProctorPrecursors of Guidelines: Intervention Research and Evidence-Based PracticeIntervention Research in Social Work: A Basis for Evidence-Based Practice and Practice Guidelines, by Mark W. FraserEvidence-Based Practice: Implications for Knowledge Development and Use in Social Work, by Eileen GambrillEmpirical Foundations for Practice Guidelines in Current Social Work Knowledge, by William J. Reid and Anne E. FortunePractice Guidelines for Social Work: Need, Nature, and ChallengesClinical Guidelines and Evidence-Based Practice in Medicine, Psychology, and Allied Professions, by Matthew Owen Howard and Jeffrey M. JensonThe Structure and Function of Social Work Practice Guidelines, by Enola K. Proctor and Aaron RosenSocial Work Should Help Develop Interdisciplinary Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines, Not Discipline-Specific Ones, by Bruce A. ThyerThe Role of Diagnostic and Problem Classification in Formulating Target-Based Practice Guidelines, by Stuart A. KirkConstructing Practice: Diagnosis, Problems, Targets, or Transactions?, by Mark A. MattainiResponsiveness of Practice Guidelines to Diversity in Client Populations and Practice Settings: The Idiographic Application of Normative GeneralizationsAccounting for Variability in Client, Population, and Setting Characteristics: Moderators of Intervention Effectiveness, by Lynn VidekaService-Delivery Factors in the Development of Practice Guidelines, by Luis H. ZayasPerformance Standards and Quality Control: Application of Practice Guidelines to Service Delivery, by Wilma Peebles-Wilkins and Maryann AmodeoPractitioner, Organizational, and Institutional Factors in the Utilization of Practice GuidelinesPractitioner Adoption and Implementation of Practice Guidelines and Issues of Quality Control, by Edward J. Mullen and William F. BaconOrganizational and Institutional Factors in the Development of Practice Knowledge and Practice Guidelines in Social Work, by Jeanne C. MarshSocial Work Practice Guidelines in an Interprofessional World: Honoring New Ties That Bind, by Nina L. Aronoff and Darlyne BaileyConclusionAdvancing the Development of Social Work Practice Guidelines: Directions for Research, by Enola K. Proctor and Aaron Rosen