Creating a Needs Assessment

Instructions

To prepare for this Assignment: Review Chapter 5 in your course text, focusing on the various approaches to measuring need. Consider the different tools for gathering information and when each type is most appropriate.

Review Chapter 7 in your course text, focusing on the differences between outcome objectives and process objectives. Select one of the case studies listed in the Learning Resources to use for this Assignment.

Review the case study you selected, and think about how you might determine the actual needs of the population featured in the case study and how you would state these as goals and objectives. Think about the actual goals and objectives related to the strategies employed in the program featured in the case study.

The Assignment (1 page): Summarize the purpose of conducting a needs assessment for the population in the case study. Identify several methods for performing a needs assessment of the population in the case study (homeless families).

Explain how you would find the normative, expressed, perceived, and relative needs of the population, and outline the data collection procedure(s) for each of the methods you identify.

Formulate a set of goals and objectives for the program in the case study based on the apparent needs of the population as outlined in the case study.

Finally, provide a brief explanation of the importance of having a cohesive mission statement and set of goals within an organization. Course text: Kettner, P. M., Moroney, R. M., & Martin, L. L. (2017) Designing and Managing Programs: An Effectiveness-Based Approach (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Case Study: Blue-Howells, J., McGuire, J., & Nakashima, J. (2008). Co-location of health care services for homeless veterans: A case study of innovation in program implementation. Social Work in Health Care, 47(3), 219–231.