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More About The Casework Effectiveness Scale (CES-10) S. Rama Gokula Krishnan Faculty, School of Social Work St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru, India Email: [email protected] Abstract This brief article explains why there was a need for a scale to measure the effectiveness of casework, apart from the possible uses of the scale for researchers and practitioners in the future. The Casework Effectiveness Scale (CES-10) has been scientifically developed using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and has shown high validity as well as reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha: 0.956). The scale is free to use and does not require any additional permission. Researchers are requested to cite the original article documenting the development of the tool in case they are using the scale for research purposes. Keywords: Casework Effectiveness, CES-10, Scale Development, Social Work.
Introduction Over the years, there has been a significant rise in the call for evidence-based social work (Finne et al., 2022). However, in order to achieve this, there is a need for a more comprehensive attempt to develop tools to measure some of the most important constructs in the field. Casework is not only a primary method of social work, but is also one of the oldest methods of social work. However, since Fischer’s publication in 1973 (Fischer, 1973), there has been a growing doubt about the effectiveness of casework. For those who don’t know, Fischer (1973), through his study, which involved carrying out an old form of meta-analysis, concluded that casework was not effective. This study had a significant negative impact on the theoretical foundation of the practice itself. In fact, with almost 700 citations, this is perhaps the most cited study related to social casework as of today. The study, when examined closely, had several faults. First of all, the studies included in the metaanalysis were very different from one another in terms of their sample sizes and nature. This contributes to the problem of heterogeneity, which in turn can lead the researcher to the wrong
conclusions. Secondly, there was no universally deployed scale to measure casework effectiveness, which also weakened Fischer’s meta-analysis and pointed to the need for such a scale to be developed. CES-10 and What it Can Do Developed using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, apart from being tested for its robustness through bootstrapping, the scale is ready to be used to test the effectiveness of casework practice (Krishnan et al., 2025). Essentially, the scale can be used to carry out exploratory and descriptive studies, apart from executing randomised controlled trials that can one day be combined to carry out a meta-analysis to examine the effectiveness of casework across multiple studies. Such a meta-analysis would be more scientific and accurate when compared to Fischer’s study, which was conducted when scale development in social work was yet to gain popularity. Conclusion The Casework Effectiveness Scale (CES-10) is both a valid and reliable tool (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.956) to measure the effectiveness of casework practice across various settings. This opens the door for schools of social work, researchers, and practitioners to implement the tool in order to make it more evidence-based. The scale is free to use and can be found here: https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/392798669_The_Casework_Effectiveness_Scale_CES-10 There are no permissions required to use the scale. Researchers are requested to cite the following article in case they are using the scale: Krishnan, S. R. G., Sharmila, H., Meena, B. P., Potter, A., & S.K., S. (2025). A Scale to Measure the Effectiveness of Casework (CES-10). Research on Social Work Practice, 10497315251351554. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315251351554
References Finne, J., Ekeland, T.-J., & Malmberg-Heimonen, I. (2022). Social workers use of knowledge in an evidence-based framework: A mixed methods study. European Journal of Social Work, 25(3), 443– 456. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2020.1783214 Fischer, J. (1973). Is casework effective? A review. Social Work, 18(1), 5–20. https://doi.org/ 10.1093/ sw/18.1.5 Krishnan, S. R. G., Sharmila, H., Meena, B. P., Potter, A., & S.K., S. (2025). A Scale to Measure the Effectiveness of Casework (CES-10). Research on Social Work Practice, 10497315251351554. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315251351554
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