Social Work Effectiveness Research: Implications for Probation and Juvenile Justice Services

This paper reviews the general trends in social work effectiveness research, including the results of experiments, pre‐post comparisons and client opinion studies published in the last 40 years. This broad approach is taken in the belief that the experience of colleagues practising in equally challenging fields will be of some interest to probation officers and staff engaged in juvenile justice work since the methods under test are in widespread use throughout the services. Next, studies of more direct relevance to the criminal justice sector are highlighted, and finally, the (sometimes uncomfortable) implications for practice, management and training are examined