Papers by Iverson, Melissa
Journal of Social Work Education, Oct 23, 2019
The ongoing emphasis on micro practice and declining interest in macro practice has rasied concer... more The ongoing emphasis on micro practice and declining interest in macro practice has rasied concerns regarding the availability and quality of macro internships. Effective training of macro practitioners entering the field remains necessary for reasons including oversight of staff and student internships. This study examines student and faculty perceptions of macro practice field internship experiences within social work programs across the United States and Canada. Findings suggest the majority of internships are offered within MSW programs. Respondents identified a lack of support from social work programs or field departments and a lack of internships as primary barriers to obtaining quality placements.
Journal of Social Work Education, 2019
The ongoing emphasis on micro practice and declining interest in macro practice has rasied concer... more The ongoing emphasis on micro practice and declining interest in macro practice has rasied concerns regarding the availability and quality of macro internships. Effective training of macro practitioners entering the field remains necessary for reasons including oversight of staff and student internships. This study examines student and faculty perceptions of macro practice field internship experiences within social work programs across the United States and Canada. Findings suggest the majority of internships are offered within MSW programs. Respondents identified a lack of support from social work programs or field departments and a lack of internships as primary barriers to obtaining quality placements.
The Unintended Influence and Impact: Funder-Mandated Performance Metrics, Service Delivery, and Social Justice
Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance

Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 2019
Purpose: In 2012, leading social work scholars gathered to discuss the formation of a Grand Chall... more Purpose: In 2012, leading social work scholars gathered to discuss the formation of a Grand Challenges initiative for the field of social work. The Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative (GCSWI) claims to offer an agenda for social workers that want to solve major social problems, e.g., poverty, environmental issues, and violence. GCSWI researchers utilized 21 GCSWI papers to identify innovative ways in which social workers could resolve these problems within 10 years. This paper examines the quality of the evidence for each paper, as well as exploring how much of the research was conducted by social workers. Methods: This paper uses a directed content analysis approach to explore the evidence of each of the original GCSWI papers. All 21 GC papers were independently coded by two members of the team, and after getting to acceptable inter-rater reliability, data from the coding were analyzed to assess the quality of evidence and degree of social work research involvement in the specific GCSWI paper. Results: Data from this study indicate that few GCSWI papers presented compelling evidence to support the goals of the specific GC, and few of the papers prioritized the work of social work researchers and publication in social work journals. Conclusion: Implications for the GCSWI are discussed, as well as suggestions from the analysis on how the GCSWI project can be more fully situated within the science of social work if it wishes to accomplish its ambitious goals of improving the outcomes for major social problems.
The Unintended Influence and Impact: Funder-Mandated Performance Metrics, Service Delivery, and Social Justice
Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 2023
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Papers by Iverson, Melissa