How Community Understanding leads to Agency Advancement

1. How Community Understanding leads to Agency Advancement Erin Spalding, LCSW Program Director The Christi Center, Austin, TX erin@christicenter.org

2. We offer hope after the death of a loved one by providing support networks, community education and therapeutic activities that are free, peer-based, and ongoing. • Adult peer grief support services • Services for loss to crime and suicide • Grief support for kids (age 5-12) – onsite and at local schools • Grief support for teens (age 12-19) - onsite and at local schools

3. Understanding Your Organization • History • Founders • Core values/beliefs • Services • Mission • Vision • Where do you want to go as an organization? • Is everyone on the same page? • What stake holders need to be included in the discussion?

4. Understanding Your Community • What defines community? • City, county, zip code, metro area etc. • Peer group • Culture • Education • Socio-economic status • Careerand/or military service • Religion • Sexuality

5. What does this group need? Please stand up and get ready to move

6. Differential Needs for Your Service Community • What is your agency’s definition of community? • Do all aspects of community factor into that definition? • How do you decide which to include? • What would be differential needs for these various communities?

7. Differential Needs? • Service provision • Do services need to change for different communities? • Cultural Competence vs. Cultural Proficiency • Cost • Location/transportation • Time • Inclusivity/diversity • Do clients feel a sense of community? • Other barriers to access

8. Adapting Services Advantages Challenges • Serve broader community • Provide more services • Be a leader in the community • Increase awareness of concerns of bereaved • Reduce stigma • Promotes collaborations & continuum of care • Do you have stakeholder buy in? • What are you willing to change? • What is agency willing to change? • Is it mission creep? • Cost • Personnel

9. Collaborating Organizations • Identifying possible collaborations – • Other bereavement support and/or counseling centers • Human service agencies • Colleges & Universities • Interns, volunteers, counseling centers, research etc. • Schools • Churches • Community Centers

10. Making Connections • Focus groups • Collaborative meetings • Trainings • Individual meetings to introduce agency • Ministerial alliance or other multi-church collaborations • Conferences, symposiums, task-force meetings

11. Creating a Needs Assessment • Who are you asking? • Current clients • Prospective clients (or parents) • Community agencies • What do you need to know? • Is what your offering fulfilling need? • What differential services would be most helpful? • Groups • Individual Services • Trainings

12. Differential Needs Assessment • What questions do you ask? • How many questions are too many? • Demographics • What you want to know vs. what you need to know • Appropriate ways to ask difficult questions • Current best practices • Race & Ethnicity • Gender • Sexuality

13. Dissemination • How do you get the assessment tool to individuals in the community? • Budget • Timeline • Paper vs. Online • 1st hand reporting vs. secondary reporting • IRB approval – what is this? Is it needed? • Laying out the plan “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” ~English translation of Robert Burns

14. Assessing for Trends Do you remember your Z-score Chi-square? • What kind of statistical analysis is required? • If publishing research you may have to take a refresher stats course. However, for most agency needs assessment, simply searching for trends across different communities and demographics will suffice. • What trends do you look for?

15. Let’s Give it a Try What community is not well represented at your agency? Why? What could the agency do to reach that community? Do you know that is how that community is best served? Are there other resources to meet these needs? Is your organization ready and willing to do what is needed to reach them? Stakeholder buy in Available resources Collaborations

16. Let’s Give it a Try Developing the tool What questions service do you need to ask? What demographic questions do you need to ask to recognize community trends? Who needs to review the tool prior to implementation? Does it need an IRB? Dissemination What technology do you need? Is it 1st hand or secondary? Timeline Incentive? Assessment Who is responsible? What trends do you see?

17. Advocating for Change Did your data support your hypothesis? Do the needed changes support your mission? Are the changes possible with current agency staffing? Will the stakeholders support the change? Strategically lining up support Do you need additional funding to implement change? Can these changes be incorporated into your strategic plan? What if you don’t have a strategic plan? Next steps – program creation, marketing, maintenence

18. Any Questions ? I am happy to support you as you work to assess needs within your agency and community. Please feel free to contact me at : Erin P. Spalding, LCSW Program Director The Christi Center 2306 Hancock Drive Austin, TX 78756 erin@christicenter.org 512-467-2600 X27