"If this guide is read by managers and supervisors in social work agencies on both sides of the Atlantic in conjunction with the growing recognition of the need for more professional managerial activity within both the private and public sectors, then it will serve a useful purpose."
Peter J. Pecora, M.S.W., Ph.D. has a joint appointment as the Managing Director of Research Services for Casey Family Programs, and Professor, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Casey Family Programs is the largest operating foundation in the U.S. dedicated to focus on foster care and improving the child welfare system. Dr. Pecora was a line worker and later a program coordinator in a number of child welfare service agencies. He has worked to implement intensive home-based services, child welfare training, and risk assessment systems for child protective services. He also has served as an expert witness for the states of Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Washington and Wisconsin. His co-authored books and articles focus on child welfare program design, administration, and research, including:
· What works in family foster care? Identifying key components of success from an alumni follow-up study. New York City: Oxford University Press (2010)
· The Child Welfare Challenge (New Jersey: Transaction de Gruyter, 1992, 2000, 2009)
· Enhancing the Well Being of Children and Families Through Effective Interventions- UK and USA Evidence for Practice. (London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006)
· Quality Improvement and Program Evaluation in Child Welfare Agencies: Managing Into the Next Century (Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1996)
Currently, Dr. Pecora is co-leading family support and group care reform projects in California and improving youth access to evidence-based mental health services. He also coordinates a data work group as part of a national effort to reduce racial disproportionally in the child welfare system.
Affiliations:
-Casey Family Programs and University of Washington
Michael J. Austin (Ph.D., Social Work; MSPH, Public Health, University of Pittsburgh) is Milton and Florence Krenz Mack Distinguished Professor of Nonprofit Management at the University of California, Berkeley, where the teaches a wide range of courses, including Assessing the Dynamics of Communities, Groups and Organizations, Management Practice, Research Resources, and Assessing Nonprofit Organizations. His research interests are nonprofit management and planning, organizational change, and policy implementation. He is the author or co-author of a wide range of books and journal articles.
