A Two-Stage Process For Surveying Community Needs

AbstractSocial service agencies are experiencing growing pressure to collect data about the communities they serve. Partly as a result of planning requirements set by governmental funding agents, organizations must justify the type of programs they offer and show how these services meet the actual needs of their clients. One useful way to determine community needs is through a household survey of randomly selected area residents. This paper presents the process for conducting a two-stage interview designed to uncover the wide range of problems currently facing people and then to determine the prevalence and severity of these problems within the service area. This procedure works to reduce much of the bias inherent in questionnaire writing and should provide investigators with a more realistic picture of community needs.