Community Needs Assessment
Community Needs Assessment
- Mary OhmerMary OhmerUniversity of Pittsburgh
- , and Emily UnderwoodEmily UnderwoodUniversity of Pittsburgh
Summary
Community assessments in macro social work practice focus on identifying the needs and assets of a community that can be mobilized for community improvement and change. Macro social workers engage with residents and community members as partners in conducting and utilizing the findings from community assessments. The first section describes the values and principles underlying community assessments. This is followed by a discussion of approaches for conducting community assessments. The overall approach to community assessment discusses the shift in community assessment from focusing mainly on needs and deficits to understanding both community assets and needs. Two specific approaches to community assessment are then described in greater detail, including the consensus organizing approach to conducting a community analysis and the asset-based community development approach to conducting asset mapping. This section is following by an overview of the key methods for collecting and reporting data for a community assessment.
Keywords
Subjects
- Macro Practice
Updated in this version
Content and references updated for the Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work.