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 §

Goals of an assessment

Unite, educate, coordinate, mobilize people/institutions

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

future impact • Document existing solutions/service

system• Best practices, intervention models,

guidelines §

Basic Definitions & Functions (review)

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

organizations Leverage outside governmental resources §

Needs Map Kretzmann/McKnight

Types of Needs

Normative = compared to standards (poverty rate)

Perceived = What people say, e.g., expert opinion

Expressed = squeaky wheel, e.g., waiting lists, unemployment rate, public forums, surveys

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

avoid misinterpretation §