It is important to know your community—every community is different in its characteristics and there are multiple variables that set each community apart from others. Because of this uniqueness, planning strategies that might work in one community may not work in another.
The assessment phase often occurs simultaneously with the role of engagement. As you engage with the community, you are also assessing its strengths and challenges. For example, you might identify barriers, such as a lack of public transportation in the community, that prevent the client from accessing resources. Information like this will enable you to best determine and develop a plan of care for your individuals or families.
This week, you complete a comprehensive evaluation of your community.
Instructions:
Submit a 4- to 5-page page paper in which you provide an assessment of your community. Follow these steps to apply macro skills in your assessment:
Use the Overview Questions in the Community Assessment Guiding Framework handout to help you identify the important characteristics of your social environment—that is, your community.
Use the Assessment Questions in the Community Assessment Guiding Framework handout to assess the integration of services in your communities.
To write your 4- to 5-page paper, organize your paper with the following headings:
Historic Overview
Demographics and City Governance
Civic and Social Domains
Cultural and Religious Domains
Under each applicable heading, and based on what you have identified from the Overview Questions section of the Community Assessment Guiding Framework handout, address the following:
Describe the characteristics of your community.
Identify the important individuals, leaders, and other groups in your community.
Explain how these aspects of your community make your community unique.
Based on the Assessment Questions section of the Community Assessment Guiding Framework handout:
Identify an area that may benefit from the development of a program.
Explain why you think your program may be relevant.
Include a reference page (which is in addition to the 4- to 5-page writing requirement) that lists any scholarly journal articles, personal interviews, or government documents used to conduct your assessment.
References
Netting, F. E., Kettner, P. M., McMurtry, S. L., & Thomas, M. L. (2017). Social work macro practice (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Chapter 5, “Understanding Communities” (pp. 116–152)
Chapter 6, “Assessing Communities” (pp. 153–187)
Document: Community Assessment Guiding Framework (Word document)Download Community Assessment Guiding Framework (Word document)
