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AbstractEffective mentoring for leadership development requires nuanced practical considerations. The authors of this chapter outline aspects of effective mentorship, highlight considerations for practitioners and mentoring programs, and offer critical perspectives on mentoring.

Increased emphasis is being placed on improving outcomes for abused and neglected children served by the child welfare system. To achieve this goal, the notion of "best practice" is widely embraced. Unfortunately, there is no consensus on its definition. Various interpretations include (a) practice wisdom, (b) emulating other systems, (c) expert consultants, (d) professional guidelines, and (e) evidence-based practice. In this article, the authors describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of these definitions. While all of them have a role to play in improving results of child welfare interventions, the authors argue that best practice is optimally defined as evidence-based practice. At the same time, there are many difficulties in employing this form of best practice, including a lack of evidence, the transfer of information, and the organizational culture in which the worker operates. Suggested solutions to these difficulties are discussed.

Editor's note: This article is reprinted from Volume 80-4 (1999) as part of the Revisiting Our Heritage series. Nearly 20 years ago, one of the earliest articles to appear in a social work journal on evidence-based practice (EBP) was presented by Eileen Gambrill. While many are familiar with Gambrill's contributions as a pioneer of the EBP movement in social work, it is worth noting her emphasis on client voice as a vital part of EBP in advancing the field's efficacy: "Evidence-based practice requires an atmosphere in which critical appraisal of practice-related claims flourishes, and clients are involved as informed participants. A notable feature of EBP is attention to clients' values and expectations. Clients are involved as active participants in the decision-making processes." As you reflect on two decades of EBP influence in research, practice, and policy, consider how successful (or not) social work has progressed in keeping the foundation of client self-determinism strong and relevant.

What evidence-based practice is and why it matters -- Healthcare research methods -- Formulating focused questions and locating relevant evidence -- Appraisal, decision-making and evaluation -- Interpreting research methods and results -- Epidemiology in evidence-based practice -- Evidence-based practice in assessment and diagnosis -- Evidence-based practice in treatment, harm, and prevention -- Evidence-based practice and health produce marketing -- Health communications with patient and population-centered care, decision.

• Summary: The purported purpose of literature in the helping professions is to contribute to helping clients. Most authors who prepare articles are employed in universities and colleges which claim to value the pursuit of truth. Yet the professional literature is rife with inflated claims of what 'we know' and 'do not know' as well as distortions of ideas and issues. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the steady misrepresentation of the process and philosophy of evidence-based practice (EBP). Authors have exercised their discretion to misinform rather than to inform readers about this new idea that is so compatible with social work values and obligations described in professional codes of ethics (for example, to involve clients as informed participants and to be competent) and so sensitive to practitioners' need for tools that enable them to meet ethical obligations in a context of uncertainty and lack of resources when making life-affecting decisions.• Findings: Evidence-based practice was developed to help practitioners to deal with the inherent uncertainty of practice in an informed, accountable way, paying attention to the need to develop tools to enable this process, such as the Cochrane and Campbell data bases of systematic reviews related to specific clinical and policy questions as well as constraints such as dysfunctional organizational practices and lack of resources. The importance of considering the unique circumstances and characteristics of each client, including their values and expectations, as well as the limitations of published research (e.g. inflated claims of effectiveness and hiding of disliked alternative views) is highlighted. Decision-making is viewed as a complex process requiring individual tailoring of decisions on the part of practitioners as well as skeptical appraisal of claims in published research. This process and philosophy shares core values promoted by social work. The process and philosophy of evidence-based practice as described in original sources is not presented in the majority of publications in social work. This makes it impossible for readers to understand the original vision as well as recent developments in its application. Indeed, the five-step process involved in EBP described in original sources is typically not described, even in entire books on the subject. Given that new ideas may benefit clients, for example by enabling the honoring of ethical obligations and encouraging the development of tools that practitioners need to make informed (rather than misinformed or uninformed) decisions, this is a concerning lapse. Many authors have used their discretion to hide rather than to reveal this new idea and related developments, such as new ways to involve clients as informed participants. Reasons why are suggested, including the play of propaganda in the helping professions, the failure to read original sources, and a detachment from the needs of direct line staff and clients.• Applications: This article suggests ethical obligations in exercising discretion when choosing how to describe new ideas (e.g. accurately or in a distorted form). The importance of reading original (rather than secondary) sources is emphasized.

Clinical Interventions in Criminal Justice Settings: Evidenced-Based Practice balances theoretical frameworks and research methodology to examine the effective, evidence-based practices and principles for populations within the criminal justice system, exploring the major clinical issues that are relevant for adopting evidence-based practices and demonstrating how to implement them. Topics include legislation, law enforcement, courts, corrections, actuarial assessment instruments, treatment fidelity, diverse populations, mental illness, substance use and juvenile delinquency. This book also models opportunities for evidence-based practice during entry into the criminal justice system (arrest), prosecution (court, pretrial release, jail, and prison), sentencing (community supervision, incarceration), and corrections (jail, prison, probation and parole). Addresses offenders in all four stages of the criminal justice system-legislation, law enforcement, courts and correctionsCovers the use of actuarial risk assessment instruments for clinical decision-makingIncludes tools that predict recidivism, levels of service needed, and future offending behaviorSeparates specific practices for juvenile and adult offendersDelves into specific special populations, such as those with HIV and AIDS, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders and homelessness Dr. George T. Patterson is the author of the book Social Work Practice in the Criminal Justice System, and has also published numerous criminal justice-related articles. Dr. Patterson has both research evaluation experience on numerous federal grants, such as the Department of Justice, assessing evidence-based practice and best practices. He has extensive clinical experience in varied components of the criminal justice system. He is a NYS certified police instructor, police social worker, NYS Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and provides criminal justice-related training to numerous agencies.