Week 6: Assessing Social Conditions & Communities UTA SSW, Generalist Macro Practice UTA school of social work Dr. Dick Schoech Copyright (permission required before use) Suggest printing slides for class using: Print | Handouts | 3 slides per page | grayscale options
33
Embed
Week 6: Assessing Social Conditions & Communities UTA SSW, Generalist Macro Practice UTA school of social work Dr. Dick Schoech Copyright (permission required.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Week 6:
Assessing Social Conditions & Communities
UTA SSW, Generalist Macro PracticeUTA school of social work
Dr. Dick SchoechCopyright (permission required before use)
Suggest printing slides for class using: Print | Handouts | 3 slides per page | grayscale options
Summary of Classes
Generalist macro practice history, change process, roles, levels of intervention
Theories, values, perspectives The community as client Social conditions as problems/opportunities Assessing social conditions/communities Intervening in social conditions Administrative practices §
Learning Objectives of Class
Understand goals of an assessmentUnderstand logic of an assessmentUnderstand fact finding step of assessment
involving needs, capacities, barriers, services, evidence based solutions
Learn data sources and collection methodsLearn about data analysis & presentationLearn about the politics of data §
Understand a condition/problem by examining relevant data & information
Provide information to design a solution, e.g., capacities, model programs, research
Provide baseline data to measure progressProvide ways to see if vision impacted §
Logic of Assessment (logic model)
People in the community of xxx Living in condition aaa Have needs such as bbb That are caused by ccc And not solved due to ddd & eee Others addressed these needs by fff with ggg results So given capacities of xxx The recommended solution is zzz §
Steps in an Assessment (review)
1. Identify condition of concern2. Developing vision and principles to guide action3. Identify & mobilize stakeholders into guiding coalition4. Explore condition, why problem, history, causes, politics5. Fact finding to assess the condition
Who is client & stakeholders Capacities & Needs Services Model solutions
6. Develop priorities and barriers • Priority list of capacities/resources to build on• Priority list of needs (gaps in services, felt need, etc.)• Identify barriers to solutions
7. Make report understandable/politically acceptable 8. Text page 165 + Using the PREPARE Steps pg. 289 §
Your Task Force is on Step 5
Step 5: Fact finding about the condition
Step 5: Fact Finding
Include Data & Information on: • Profile community (client)• Search out capacities and needs• Develop baseline measure to measure
Needs Help focus solution Try to base needs in outcome is strongest Summarizes what need & who has need One need per statement Don’t confuse need with solution, e.g., need = more therapy
Capacities Helps design a solution Cover individuals experience/knowledge/skills, associations,
and organizations
Barriers Identify roadblocks during solutions §
Capacities Map Kretzmann/McKnight
Capacities of Individuals
Determine• Skills (music, art, computer work, mailings)• Experiences (influence, power, fame, relationships)• Products (car, house for party)• Time (monitor city council meetings) • Spending patterns of individuals
Note: Kretzmann/McKnight suggest citizen groups and associations, rather than local institutions, control community change. Institutions tend to benefit themselves at the expense of the community. Citizen groups and associations rarely do. §
Capacities of Associations
Women's groups, AAUW, Junior League Service groups, e.g, rotary, JCs, etc. Senior/youth groups, e.g, scouts 4H, YM & YW Business groups, e.g, Chamber Citizens groups, e.g., crime watch Veterans groups Sports groups, e.g., little league, etc. Political groups, democrats & republicans Outdoor groups, e.g, conservation societies §
Assess Capacities of Institutions
Identify capacities of: Churches Schools & colleges Hospitals Human services Businesses Police City, e.g., parks, libraries §
Leverage Economic Capacities
Keep dollars circulating locally Use investment trust for loaning $s locally Use brokerage system for banking/loaning Leverage outside philanthropic
Relative = compared to similar situations, concern is equity, ( infant mortality rate) §
Other Relevant Needs Definitions
Incidence = number during a time period Example: 5000 people were homeless in 1999
Prevalence = number at any one time Example: on 1 Dec 99, 500 were homeless
Valid = measures concept under study, nothing else
Reliable = consistent over time Baseline data = starting point from which to
measure results §
Fact Finding: Existing Services
Agencies/programs addressing condition Services locations Eligibility criteria to receive services Hours of operations
Trends, service statistics for several years, waiting lists, etc.
Services compared to comprehensive system of services to find gaps (CP: continuum of care) §
Barriers to Change/services
Examples of Barriers Agency inaccessibility Transportation unavailability Language Cultural ignorance and insensitivity Lack of knowing where to find help §
Fact finding Evidence/solutions
What are others doing How effective are othersHow similar are others (community, needs,
capacities)Can we replicate what others are doing
(fidelity)What can we learn from others §
Sources of data and Information
Sources of Data
Primary (you collect for current purpose) Experts Key informants Citizens/consumers
Secondary (others collected for other purposes) Census bureau Research studies Agency reports §
Methods of Primary Data Collection
SurveysPublic forumsInterviewsDocument analysisObservationGroup process (focus groups) §
Surveys (household, consumer, etc)
Targeted High validity/reliability Many analysis tools
(stats) Cost effective (sampling) Online options are
possible
Experience required Time consuming Requires a pretest Return or missing rate Sample size vs.
accuracy §
advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages
Public Forums
Easy to set up Gives all the
opportunity to participate
High validity CYA
Hard to control Can be dominated
by a few Hard to summarize
results May not be reliable
(hard to replicate) §
advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages
Interviews
Easy to conduct Can discover political realities Delphi technique Get information ‘off the record’ High validity/reliability Can explore answers Get capacities via stories &
histories
Hidden agendas Hard to summarize Can be biased by
who is interviewed §
advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages
Document Analysis
Readily available information
Inexpensive High reliability Analysis tools exist Can get at capacities via
histories
Hard to analyze Hard to
summarize Moderate validity
because you can not always find documents on topic §
advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages
Observation
InexpensiveHigh validityGives information
on the context
Hard to analyze Hard to summarize May be biased due to
values of the designer/ observer
Moderate/low reliable (hard to replicate) §
advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages
Group Process (Focus Groups)
Detailed analysis Quick Can use techniques as
brainstorming & Nominal group
Online techniques are available, e.g., Listservs, chat rooms
Requires experience
Requires planning Hard to get
diversity Difficult to
summarize §
advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages
Tips for CAP Data Analysis
When using statistics for the general public, remember the following principles:
Minimum data collection, maximum analysis
KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Distinguish between data and
interpretation of data Use totals and average, percents, etc. §
Tips on Data Presentation
Know your audience Use executive summaries (assume multiple readers) One picture worth 1000 words Use indicators Use graphics (Excel charting feature is great) Use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Assume a 6th grade reading level for public Put data in appendices unless needed to understand
text §
Politics of Data Collection
Your sanction helps in collecting dataCollection imposes on those providing dataUse incentives/payoffs for those providing dataPrimary data is a heavy burden on collectorsSecondary data usually easy to obtainThe Internet is the first place to searchBeware of biases and personal agendas §
Conclusion
Data is for identifying needStories, histories, etc. for identifying capacitiesMinimum data collection, maximum useAssessment should be logical Assessment should present a picture/tell a
storyCredibility is hard to regain--get 2nd opinion to