NCJ Number
69207
Date Published
1980
Length
107 pages
Annotation
THE COMPONENTS OF THE COMMUNITY ORIENTED NEEDS ASSESSMENT (CONA) MODEL FOR GENERATING USABLE DATA IN PLANNING AND DELIVERY OF COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH AND OTHER HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAMS ARE PRESENTED IN A STEP-BY-STEP FORMAT.
Abstract
THE MODEL IS DESIGNED TO UTILIZE DATA COLLECTED FROM THREE SOURCES: DEMOGRAPHIC AND STATISTICAL PROFILES, DESIGNATED KEY INFORMANTS, AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS WITH RANDOMLY SELECTED CONSUMERS AND POTENTIAL CONSUMERS. CONA IS SEEN AS HAVING THE FOLLOWING ADVANTAGES: (1) IT INVOLVES CONSUMERS, (2) IT ENHANCES COMMUNITY EDUCATION, (3) IT IS EASILY TRANSFERABLE, (4) IT IS RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE, AND (5) IT GENERATES USEFUL DATA. PREASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT OF DATA SOURCES, REFINEMENT OF SURVEY INSTRUMENTS, AND PUBLICIZING OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT EFFORT TO CONSUMERS, KEY INFORMANTS, AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. INTERVIEWING PROCEDURES FOR GATHERING DATA ON HUMAN SERVICES DELIVERY INVOLVE DETERMINING THE SAMPLE SIZE AND THE NUMBER AND TYPES OF INTERVIEWERS NEEDED; TRAINING THE INTERVIEWER; PROVIDING THE INTERVIEWER WITH PROPER IDENTIFICATION (A BADGE OR CARD), AND INSTITUTING FIELD CONTROL TO INSURE DATA INTEGRITY. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS SHOULD BE CHARACTERIZED BY CAREFUL DELIMITATION OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, IDENTIFICATION OF KEY INFORMANT GROUPS AND COLLECTION OF DATA BY MEANS OF QUESTIONNAIRES, SECURING OF A PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF THE CONSUMER POPULATION, AND COMPUTER PROCESSING TO FACILITATE COMPILATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA. INTRA-AGENCY UTILIZATION OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT DATA CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE CONSUMER/PROVIDER COMMUNICATION (CPC) MODEL, A PLANNING MODEL THAT USES DIRECT CONSUMER INPUT IN THE PLANNING AND DELIVERY OF HUMAN SERVICES TO INSURE GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY OF HUMAN SERVICE AGENCIES TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THE CPC MODEL FACILITATES A NEEDS ASSESSMENT DATA EXCHANGE BETWEEN CONSUMERS AND PROVIDERS WITHIN THE FOLLOWING PHASES OF THE SERVICE DELIVERY CYCLE. THE PHASES INCLUDE THE DEFINITION OF PERCEIVED CONSUMER PROBLEMS, KEY INFORMANT AND STATISTICAL PROFILE COMPARISON, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, INTERAGENCY COORDINATION AND LINKAGE, FUNDING, PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION. LASTLY, THE COMMUNITY IMPACT PLANNING MODEL PROVIDES A STRATEGY FOR PLANNING AND EVALUATING HUMAN SERVICES WHICH EMPHASIZES CONSUMER PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPING SERVICE PLANS AT MANY LEVELS OF COMPLEX HUMAN SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS. NOTES AND APPENDIXES ARE PROVIDED.