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Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
6-2-2023
Year of Publication
2023
Document Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Doctor of Social Work (DSW)
Faculty
Laura Escobar-Ratliff
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a critical impact on the social work profession, with social workers relying heavily on technology to deliver services. There have been concerns about the effectiveness of these evolved practices, and practitioners are questioning whether they are acceptable as emergency orders caused by the pandemic begin to lapse. To address these concerns, a systematic literature review was conducted to synthesize scholarly literature on the effectiveness of telesupervision in social work practice. This capstone project aims to provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of telesupervision in social work practice
When evaluating the training and development of social workers in supervision, one must consider the traditional way in which supervision is delivered. Traditionally social work supervision involved both administrative and clinical supervisor responsibilities. Through the conceptual paper, this traditional supervision delivery process will be explored, with special emphasis on the challenges these traditional supervision arrangements may cause. This process will be conceptualized using an innovative leadership approach to explore potential solutions such as external clinical-only supervision.
In addition to the challenges presented by the pandemic, the social work profession is facing other significant challenges, including provider shortages, high turnover rates, and burnout. Offering training and development for social worker newcomers through quality clinical supervision is the potential solution presented. To explore this proposed solution further, a practice application paper was developed to examine how external or contractual clinical telesupervision can address these industry challenges. This composed work includes a cost-benefit analysis template to help organizational leaders evaluate the feasibility of implementing a contractual clinical telesupervision program. This approach can potentially help organizations make informed decisions about addressing profession-wide challenges and supporting social workers in their roles.
The findings based on these three pieces can inform social work practitioners, educators, policymakers, and organizational leaders to improve social work practice and support the sustainability of the profession. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that social workers have access to quality training and development opportunities and can deliver effective services to those in need as mental health service needs to continue to expand.
Recommended Citation
Onunwor, HerMaya, "Technology as a Change Agent for Social Work Supervision" (2023). DSW Capstone Projects. 71.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/csw_grad_reports/71
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