Social work professionals must demonstrate their effectiveness to legislators and governments, not to mention clients and incoming practitioners. A thorough evaluation of the activities, ethics, and outcomes of social work practice is critical to maintaining investment and interest in the profession and improving the lives of underserved populations.

Incorporating the concerns of a new century into a consideration of models for practice research, this volume builds on the visionary work of William J. Reid (1928-2003) who transformed social work research through empirically based and...