Need Assessments
For this assignment , research existing needs assessments on the local level in your community, state, or federal level related to a social problem and potential human services program that you are interested in addressing in your human services career.
Please respond to the following:
1) What is the purpose of a needs assessment in developing a new program or improving an existing program?
2) Summarize the results of your research.
a) What are some unmet needs or gaps in service delivery related to your social problem?
3) If you were to continue researching community needs, how would you measure need, and how would you collect the data?
4) How would you identify needs or gaps in the service delivery and conduct needs assessments?
Please read the following chapters in your text:
Kettner, P. M., Moroney, R., & Martin, L. L. (2017). Designing and managing programs: an effectiveness-based approach (5th ed.). SAGE.
Chapter 4: “Needs Assessment: Theoretical Considerations”
Chapter 5: “Needs Assessment: Approaches to Measurement”
Chapter 4 will introduce you to the term need, you will examine how the term need has been defined historically and examine the historical approach to defining need. You will also critically examine why it is important to seek out supporting data, but also to verify the reliability of data sources when assessing needs.
Chapter 5 will introduce you to the various approaches to addressing needs. You will also get a better understanding of methodologies used in measuring need, the process of extrapolating from existing studies, and the use of inventories. You will also be introduced to public forums.
Additionally, please review the resources below:
Graham, I. M. (2020). Addressing the needs of vulnerable refugees. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 51(4), 282289.
Mannix, T. R., Austin, S. D., Baayd, J. L., & Simonsen, S. E. (2018). A community needs assessment of urban Utah American Indians and Alaska natives. Journal of Community Health, 43(6), 12171227.
Unrau, Y. A., Gabor, P. A., & Grinnell Jr., R. M. (2007). Evaluation in social work: The art and science of practice (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Chapter 5: Doing a Needs Assessment
Wang, K. H. C., Lin, J.-H., & Chen, H.-G. (2019). Explore the needs of the elderly with social awareness. Educational Gerontology, 45(5), 310323.
Weiss, P. G., & Li, S.-T. T. (2020). Leading change to address the needs and well-being of trainees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Academic Pediatrics, 20(6), 735741.
Web Resources
Center for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas. (n.d.). 2. Assessing community needs and resources. Community Tool Box. https://ctb.ku.edu/en/assessing-community-needs-and-resources
Center for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas. (n.d.). Section 4. Collecting information about the problem. Community Tool Box. https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources/collect-information/main
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (n.d.). Community needs assessment. https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/assessment/community/
Videos
Minnesota Governors Council on Developmental Disabilities. (2014, August 26). Professor John McKnight: Defining “community” and “neighborhood” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/3UpOSFL5mq4
Thompson, J. (2016, March 5). UnBound Julia prior student [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/SQYcouczVFs
