SOCW 6311 wk 8 peer responses  Respond to at least two colleagues by doing all of the following: Name first and references after every person Indicate      strengths of their needs assessment plan that will enable the needs      assessments to yield support for the program that they want to      develop.    Offer      suggestions to improve the needs assessment plan in areas such as: Defining       the extent and scope of the need Obtaining       important information about the target population Identifying       issues that might affect the target population’s ability to access the       program or services Instructor wants lay out like this: Respond to at least two colleagues ( 2 peers posts are provided) by doing all of the following: Identify strengths of your colleagues’ analyses and areas in which the analyses could be improved. Your response Address his or her evaluation of the efficacy and applicability of the evidence-based practice, Your response [Evaluate] his or her identification of factors that could support or hinder the implementation of the evidence-based practice, Your response And [evaluate] his or her solution for mitigating those factors. Your response Offer additional insight to your colleagues by either identifying additional factors that may support or limit implementation of the evidence-based practice or an alternative solution for mitigating one of the limitations that your colleagues identified. Your response References Your response Peer 1: McKenna Bull  RE: Discussion - Week 8 COLLAPSE Top of Form Needs assessments are a form of research conducted to gather information about the needs of a population or a group in a community (Tutty & Rothery, 2010, p. 149). One purpose of a needs assessment is to explore in more depth whether a new program within an organization or agency is needed (Dudley, 2014, p. 117). Key questions of this type of needs assessment may revolve around: (1) whether there are enough prospective clients to warrant this type of program, (2) the different activities or programs that the respondents would be interested in using, priorities for some activities over others, (3) importance of the activities, and (4) times in which this program would be desired and used (Dudley, 2014, p. 117). Potential barriers for the implementation of a new program should also be assessed to ensure the best possible outcome. Some barriers to services could include factors such as: location, costs, potential need for fees, and possible psychological issues related to such things. The following is an assessment of an intensive outpatient program for youth, and a potential need that is currently being unmet. Post a needs assessment plan for a potential program of your choice that meets a currently unmet need. Describe the unmet need and how current information supports your position that a needs assessment is warranted. The intensive outpatient program (IOP) at Provo Canyon Behavioral H.

1. SOCW 6311 wk 8 peer responses
Respond to at least two colleagues by doing all of the
following:
Name first and references after every person
Indicate strengths of their needs assessment plan that will
enable the needs assessments to yield support for the
program that they want to develop.
Offer suggestions to improve the needs assessment plan in
areas such as:
Defining the extent and scope of the need
Obtaining important information about the target population
Identifying issues that might affect the target population’s
ability to access the program or services
Instructor wants lay out like this:
Respond to at least two colleagues ( 2 peers posts are provided)
by doing all of the following:
Identify strengths of your colleagues’ analyses and areas in
which the analyses could be improved.

2. Your response
Address his or her evaluation of the efficacy and applicability
of the evidence-based practice,
Your response
[Evaluate] his or her identification of factors that could support
or hinder the implementation of the evidence-based practice,
Your response
And [evaluate] his or her solution for mitigating those factors.
Your response
Offer additional insight to your colleagues by either identifying
additional factors that may support or limit implementation of
the evidence-based practice or an alternative solution for
mitigating one of the limitations that your colleagues identified.
Your response
References
Your response
Peer 1: McKenna Bull
RE: Discussion - Week 8
COLLAPSE
Top of Form

3. Needs assessments are a form of research conducted to gather
information about the needs of a population or a group in a
community (Tutty & Rothery, 2010, p. 149). One purpose of a
needs assessment is to explore in more depth whether a new
program within an organization or agency is needed (Dudley,
2014, p. 117). Key questions of this type of needs assessment
may revolve around: (1) whether there are enough prospective
clients to warrant this type of program, (2) the different
activities or programs that the respondents would be interested
in using, priorities for some activities over others, (3)
importance of the activities, and (4) times in which this program
would be desired and used (Dudley, 2014, p. 117). Potential
barriers for the implementation of a new program should also be
assessed to ensure the best possible outcome. Some barriers to
services could include factors such as: location, costs, potential
need for fees, and possible psychological issues related to such
things. The following is an assessment of an intensive
outpatient program for youth, and a potential need that is
currently being unmet.
Post a needs assessment plan for a potential program of your
choice that meets a currently unmet need. Describe the unmet
need and how current information supports your position that a
needs assessment is warranted.
The intensive outpatient program (IOP) at Provo Canyon
Behavioral Hospital provides specialized care for adolescents
who struggle with a wide variety of mental health and
behavioral needs. Some of the primary therapeutic modalities
include: psychoeducational groups, dialectical behavioral
therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), rational
emotive behavioral therapy (REBT), EMDR, and experiential
therapies such as music, pet and recreational therapies. Though
this program provides a wide array of services to attempt to
meet the needs of these particular youth, there are still needs

4. being unmet. In particular, the needs of the LGBTQIA+ youth
seem to be overlooked and underserved.
LTBTQIA+ youth as a whole are more susceptible than their
heterosexual peers to be succumbed to family violence and
homelessness, have higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse, may
experience higher levels of depressive symptoms, and are more
likely to consider and attempt suicide (p. 16). In Utah, the
predominant culture revolves around Mormon ideologies and
beliefs. Some of these ideologies and “morals” can leave
potentially long-lasting, negative effects on those who do not
necessarily fit in with them. Higa et al. (2014) suggests that
negative factors such as the ideals of religion can have an
overall detrimental impact on the development of an
LGBTQIQ+ youths identity, and may negatively impact their
overall psyche (p. 663). As a whole, the LGBTQIA+ youth in
Utah are highly susceptible to negative outcomes, and may
require a great deal of support in order to overcome the
challenges faced.
This being said, one may argue that a social support group
could be beneficial in improving the overall outcomes of these
at risk youth. Wilkerson et al. (2017) suggests that an increase
in social support may have the potential to improve the overall
health of LBTQIA+ youth (p. 358). This particular study
evaluated the effects of a group that involved an hour of each of
the following: unstructured social time, consciousness-raising
(education), and a youth led peer support group (Wilkerson et
al., 2017, p. 358). What was found in this cross-sectional study
was that youth who attended this support group for multiple
months reported higher social support, and this increased social
support was associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms
and a decrease in potentially risky behaviors.
This type of group could be beneficial to implement at this
particular IOP program. Based on the current and recent

5. populations attending this program, the majority report falling
on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, and have reported that a great deal
of their stressors revolve around this component of themselves.
There is currently no intervention specifically implemented to
meet the unique needs of this vulnerable population. The groups
facilitated aim to increase resilience and motivation, yet fail to
address the root cause of a number of clients issues.
Identify the sources of information that you might use when
conducting a needs assessment, including potential informants.
Explain who among these potential informants would be
valuable resources and why.
Potential informants for this particular needs assessment could
include a number of individuals. Firstly, the youth involved in
the IOP program. The thoughts and perceptions of these
individuals would be highly informational, as they seem to be
the population who’s needs have been overlooked and unmet for
some time. It would be interesting to gain a better
understanding of how they perceive their own individual needs,
and how they feel these needs could be met. Perhaps the parents
of the children should be involved, and they could provide
insight into their children’s behavior(s) outside of the program,
help to understand their child’s potential needs, and provide
other needed information as well. Stakeholders should also be
involved throughout the process, as they may have an overall
influential say in whether a program such as this is developed
and implemented, or is left to be addressed at a different time or
by another agency.
Identify steps for obtaining credible, unbiased information.
For the sake of this particular study, perhaps utilizing a
combination of approaches to gather data may be most prudent.
Many needs assessments use multiple methods of data collection
to capture a more comprehensive picture of the population of

6. interest (Dudley, 2014, p. 134). Some of the particular
modalities one may use in this situation may be: administering a
questionnaire to the population of interest, conducting
informant interviews, and observing discussions between
individuals who may fall into the population of interest.
Utilizing a combination of approaches could allow researchers
to gain an overall better understanding of the needs of the
individuals within the population, and provide insight into how
to provide aid.
References
Dudley, J. R. (2014). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what
we do. (2nd ed.) Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books.
Friesner, D. E., & Peck, L. R. (2007). Comparison group
identification for difficult-to-evaluate populations: lessons from
evaluating 1n10 LGBTQ youth support services.
Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
, 4(8), 16–39.
Higa, D., Hoppe, M. J., Lindhorst, T., Mincer, S., Beadnell, B.,
Morrison, D. M., Wells, E. A., Todd, A., & Mountz, S. (2014).
Negative and Positive Factors Associated with the Well-Being
of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning
(LGBTQ) Youth.
Youth & Society,
46(5), 663–687.
Tutty, L. M., & Rothery, M. A. (2010).
Needs assessments.
IN B. Thyer (Ed.),
The handbook of social work research methods
(2nd ed., pp. 149-162). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Wilkerson, J. M., Schick, V. R., Romijnders, K. A., Bauldry, J.,

7. & Butame, S. A. (2017). Social support, depression, self-
esteem, and coping among LGBTQ adolescents participating in
hatch youth.
Health Promotion Practice
, 18(3), 358–365.
Bottom of Form
Peer 2: Cedric Brown
RE: Discussion - Week 8
COLLAPSE
Top of Form
Post a needs assessment plan for a potential program of your
choice that meets a currently unmet need. Describe the unmet
need and how current information supports your position that a
needs assessment is warranted.
The program that I chose was the Arise Counseling Services
where I am currently doing my field education experience. The
reason that I proposed a needs assessment is to make sure that
the needs of the community are being met as well as to see if
there is a need to implement a new program. To ensure that the
clients are satisfied with the services and the quality. Also, the
needs assessment would be to see if a new program such as an
anger management group would be beneficial. Currently, the
agency does not provide those services and by doing a needs
assessment you would be able to interview and survey the
stakeholders to gauge the interest as well as the backing of the
program. Needs assessments can gather valuable information to
social problems that have a negative impact on their community

8. (Dudley, 2014).
Identify the sources of information that you might use when
conducting a needs assessment, including potential informants.
Explain who among these potential informants would be
valuable resources and why.
The information that would be gathered for the need’s
assessment would be from current board members, clients,
employees, community members, and other agencies that work
with Arise. All of the individuals involved would be considered
informants and their information would drive the assessment.
Each stakeholder brings a different perspective to the
assessment and they all would be valuable to implementing a
new program within the agency.
Identify steps for obtaining credible, unbiased information.
The steps for obtaining the information would be to utilize a
qualitative method using individual interviews. Using
interviews gives you an opportunity to build a rapport with the
interviewees and have the ability to talk about sensitive issues
that you might not have through a survey (Tutty & Rothery,
2010). You also have an open space to possibly find out if the
needs are not being met in other areas of the agency. So, I think
taking into account all that is involved and then rate what they
think the needs of the program and if it would be beneficial.
Cedric
Reference
Dudley, J.R. (2014). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what
we do. (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL:
Lyceum Books.

9. Tutty, L.M., & Rothery, M.A. (2010). Needs assessments. In B.
Thyer (Ed.), The handbook of
social work research methods (2nd ed., pp. 149-162).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (PDF)