Multi-Site University-Based Supervisor Training Program Consistently Improves Use of Best Practices

Background/Purpose: There is a critical need for enhanced education for social work supervisors of direct practice. Agency-based supervision is instrumental to the social work practice model and essential for skilled practice and staff retention, impacting the quality of services. However, little in the curricula of schools of social work addresses supervision. Early-career social workers are thrust into supervisory positions without adequate preparation. Continuing education programs are sparsely available to provide training for supervisors seeking to hone their skills.

Methods: An innovative program model which responds to the need for increased training on social work supervision, called Social Work Practice Fellows (SWPF), launched in 2018. SWPF is a professional development program for MSW supervisors of direct practice in organizations serving clients across the life course. SWPF is delivered by the continuing education departments of schools of social work; four sites currently. Workshops are led by practitioners and faculty scholars. The educational model fosters interactive learning utilizing group activities among small groups of 12-25 trainees per cohort. Participants utilize extensive educational materials. SWPF facilitates peer support for supervisors, who are known to experience professional isolation. The program has evolved through in-person and virtual formats, before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Evaluation data were collected from all cohorts, focusing on process and learning outcomes. An inventory of supervisory best practices that corresponds with the curriculum allows for the comparison of pre- and post-training scores to demonstrate any changes in the extent of participants’ frequency of and confidence in the use of best practices.

Results: We compare both process and learning outcomes from in-person and virtual programs. The program has trained 328 social work supervisors across 19 cohorts to date. These supervisors collectively support over 2800 social service workers addressing the well-being of more than 265,000 clients annually. Process evaluations confirm the feasibility of program adoption by universities and its acceptability among trainees. Organizational support for trainees decreased during the pandemic, although differences were more pronounced in tangible and instrumental forms of support than in emotional forms. Larger proportions of trainees reported minor routine difficulties in fitting the workshops into their work life during the pandemic period. There is variation in the magnitude of program-derived changes in frequency and confidence in the use of supervisory best practices, yet significant increases were documented in all 36 practices. When comparing in-person to virtual delivery, there were no significant differences in gains in frequency of use of best practices but the gains in confidence were significantly higher as a result of the virtual programs.

Conclusion/Implications: The SWPF program has been operating for 7 years, and demonstrates success in feasibility, acceptability, and learning outcomes. It offers a promising model for leveraging the educational capacity of Schools of Social Work to support local practice networks nationwide. While the program faces challenges related to scalability and curricular fidelity- topics explored in this presentation- it provides critical leadership development for social work supervisors, ultimately enhancing the capacity of supervisees to deliver high-quality care.