In an effort to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of The Salvation Army's social service programs, the Western Territory Social Services Department is making a concerted effort to encourage more rigorous program evaluations to inform decisions on formulating best practices, making program modifications, and developing future initiatives. Though The Salvation Army already possesses
a robust reputation for its excellence and care in its social service delivery, we do not want to rest on our laurels; rather, we strive to reinforce that reputation with stories from the field. These stories may be told through letters or numbers, but we know that they're out there and that we have the capacity to record, express, and disseminate them more fastidiously than we do at present. This page is intended to host these stories as individuals become more confident about sharing them and awareness of this forum as a space for expression increases. As this endeavor is being conducted in conjunction with Caring magazine, any interest in sharing a qualitative (narrative) or quantitative (statistical) research article may be directed to Christin Davis at [email protected]. If you would like to provide a story about your experience working at or participating in a Salvation Army program that you think might be helpful for the Social Services Department, but are not interested in publication, you may direct your research to [email protected]. If you're unsure as to whether your experience or program would qualify as a substantive enough research study/story, or are doubtful of your research or analytical prowess, we will be posting some research helps and resources as the page develops. We just completed the 2013 Western Social Service Councils and are still processing presentation materials and recordings. Once this has been completed, all of these materials will be made publicly available to assist you. Please be patient with us in producing these materials, as this page is still in its infancy. Keep an eye out for our articles in next month's issue of Caring magazine, whose theme will be social services research, and we look forward to hearing all of your stories very soon!
