The authors of this work advocate the development of readily available, accessible and professionally sanctioned practice guidelines for social work intervention, a necessity in an age of managed care and increased demand for accountability, effectiveness and efficiency in practice.

Practice Guidelines and the Challenge of Effective Practice, by Aaron Rosen and Enola K. Proctor Precursors of Guidelines: Intervention Research and Evidence-Based Practice Intervention Research in Social Work: A Basis for Evidence-Based Practice and Practice Guidelines, by Mark W. Fraser Evidence-Based Practice: Implications for Knowledge Development and Use in Social Work, by Eileen Gambrill Empirical Foundations for Practice Guidelines in Current Social Work Knowledge, by William J. Reid and Anne E. Fortune Practice Guidelines for Social Work: Need, Nature, and Challenges Clinical Guidelines and Evidence-Based Practice in Medicine, Psychology, and Allied Professions, by Matthew Owen Howard and Jeffrey M. Jenson The Structure and Function of Social Work Practice Guidelines, by Enola K. Proctor and Aaron Rosen Social Work Should Help Develop Interdisciplinary Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines, Not Discipline-Specific Ones, by Bruce A. Thyer The Role of Diagnostic and Problem Classification in Formulating Target-Based Practice Guidelines, by Stuart A. Kirk Constructing Practice: Diagnosis, Problems, Targets, or Transactions?, by Mark A. Mattaini Responsiveness of Practice Guidelines to Diversity in Client Populations and Practice Settings: The Idiographic Application of Normative Generalizations Accounting for Variability in Client, Population, and Setting Characteristics: Moderators of Intervention Effectiveness, by Lynn Videka Service-Delivery Factors in the Development of Practice Guidelines, by Luis H. Zayas Performance Standards and Quality Control: Application of Practice Guidelines to Service Delivery, by Wilma Peebles-Wilkins and Maryann Amodeo Practitioner, Organizational, and Institutional Factors in the Utilization of Practice Guidelines Practitioner Adoption and Implementation of Practice Guidelines and Issues of Quality Control, by Edward J. Mullen and William F. Bacon Organizational and Institutional Factors in the Development of Practice Knowledge and Practice Guidelines in Social Work, by Jeanne C. Marsh Social Work Practice Guidelines in an Interprofessional World: Honoring New Ties That Bind, by Nina L. Aronoff and Darlyne Bailey Conclusion Advancing the Development of Social Work Practice Guidelines: Directions for Research, by Enola K. Proctor and Aaron Rosen

The book is a major step towards resolving some of the challenges the social work profession currently faces... The have compiled a fascinating and intellectually stimulating book. -- Eric Hardiman Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

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.