Tracking process and outcome results of BSW students' preparation for public child welfare practice: lessons learned

A Texas university/agency partnership program to prepare social work students for public child welfare conducted an exploratory study of the process and outcome results of the program's efforts from 1989-99 and offers recommendations to other university/agency programs. The evaluation plan was multi-faceted, and the evaluation included both process and outcome components from the perspectives of each stakeholder-the agency, the university, the students, the clients, and the taxpayers. The paper concludes with recommendations for the future. The partnership acknowledges that these evaluation results have limitations and are not generalizable beyond this specific partnership. The lessons learned in this university/agency partnership are first steps in developing better partnerships to prepare students for public child welfare practice.