Framework for Assessing Community
A number of assessment tools are available and appropriate when assessing a community. An agency
may mandate use of a specific tool or form. You are welcome to utilize multiple assessment tools and
we have provided a list of prospective resources for you.
For the purpose of this class with this client scenario you must use the assessment form provided and
include a narrative summary to present the information. In the narrative utilize headings provided on
the group assessment form, write complete sentences, and present the product as a professional
document. If you utilize additional assessment tools to help you assess the group, include the additional
assessment information within your narrative. Use headings or sub-headings appropriate for the
content of the additional data.
Focus on Target Population
Identify the Target Population/Target Problem
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What populations are in need of services within the community, and how can they be
accurately identified?
Which population will be the target population of this assessment?
What priority is given to the needs of this target population in the community?
What percentage of the target population is represented by people at risk of being
underserved due to their race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, or
other factors?
Understand Characteristics of Target Population Members
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What is known about the history of the target population in this community?
How many persons comprise the target population and what are their relevant
characteristics?
How do persons in the target population perceive themselves and the history of their
group?
Assess Target Population needs
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What are feasible and appropriate ways to locate community needs assessment data
and other relevant information about the target population?
What unmet needs are identified by persons in the target population?
What is the history of efforts by persons in the target population to express their needs
to others in the community?
How do persons in the target population perceive their community and its
responsiveness to their needs?
Do community members outside the target population perceive that their needs are
different from those within the target population?
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Do some members of the target population experience greater unmet needs due to
their race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, or other factors?
Determine Community Characteristics
Identify Community Boundaries
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What are the boundaries within which intervention on behalf of the target population
will occur?
Where are members of the target population located within the boundaries? Are they
highly concentrated or scattered? Are the boundaries geographically bound,
interest/identity bound, or both?
How compatible are jurisdictional boundaries of health and human service programs
that serve the target population?
Identify Community Strengths, Issues, and Problems
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What data sources are available and how are these data used within the community?
Who collects the data, and is this an ongoing process?
What are the community’s strengths?
What are the major community issues?
What are the major social problems affecting the target population in this community as
perceived by their spokespersons?
Are there subgroups of the target population that are experiencing major social
problems?
To what extent are these problems interconnected, and must some be solved before
others can be addressed?
Understand Dominant Values
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What cultural values, traditions, and beliefs are important to the target population?
What are the predominant values that affect the target population within this
community?
What groups and individuals espouse these values, who opposes them, and are there
value conflicts surrounding the target population?
How do people in this community feel about giving and receiving help?
What are the predominant shared perspectives in this community on inclusion of the
target population in decisions that affect them?
Recognize Community Differences
Identify Formal and Covert Mechanisms of Oppression
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What differences are observed among members of the target population?
What differences are observed between members of the target population and other
groups within the community?
How are target population differences viewed by the larger community?
Is the target population oppressed because of these differences?
How might identified target population strengths contribute to empowerment?
Recognize Potential Discrimination
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Are there barriers that inhabit the target population from becoming fully integrated into
the community?
What community groups, organizations, rules, procedures, or policies discriminate for or
against the target population?
To what extent are the perspectives of people of color, women, gay men, lesbians, and
transgendered persons, older persons, and persons with disabilities sought in decisions
affecting the target population?
Identify Community Structure
Recognize Locations of Power and Resource Availability
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What is the domain or jurisdiction involved, given the target population and problem?
Who controls the funds?
Who are the major community leaders within the domain identified who will respond to
the concerns of the target population? Who will oppose their concerns?
How accessible are services for the target population?
Examine Service-Delivery Units
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What informal units (for example, household, natural and social networks) are actively
engaged in service delivery to the target population within this community?
What mediating units (for example, self-help groups, voluntary or grassroots
associations) are actively engaged in service delivery to the target population within this
community?
What formal service delivery units (for example, nonprofit, public, for-profit) are actively
engaged in service delivery in this community?
Are there differences in service delivery that appear to be based on race or ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or religion?
Identify Patterns of Resource Control and Service Delivery
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What groups, associations, and organizations (both within and external to the
community) advocate for and provide assistance to the target population?
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How is resource distribution to the target population influenced by interaction (both
electronic and face to face) within the community?
What limits are placed on services to the target population, and who establishes these
limits?
What roles do citizens and consumers play in the control of services to the target
population?
Determine Linkages between Units
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How are the various types of service units generally connected within a community?
What are the established linkages between units that serve the target population within
this community?
Where are linkages between service units obviously needed, but not currently
established?
Are the interests of people of color, women, gay men and lesbians, and other oppressed
groups represented in the network established through linkages between units?
This form has been adopted from Netting, F.E., Kettner, P.M., & McMurtry, S. L. (2008). Social Work
macro practice (4th ed.). Boston, MA; Pearson Publishing.