Conducting a Conducting a Community Assessment Community Assessment Addressing DV and/or Addressing DV and/or

SASA

Conducting a Conducting a Community Assessment Community Assessment Addressing DV and/or Addressing DV and/or

SASAPresented by Vicki YbanezRed Wind Consulting, Inc. www.red-wind.net

A broad look across agencies, systems, and community members to learn more about the circumstances.

It gathers information from many different individuals and groups in the community; the types of information depend on the partnership's focus and the resources it can

draw on to conduct the assessment.

Building collaborative Building collaborative partnershippartnership• Clearly understand the context in which sexual

assault is being addressed or not addressed and the issues the community want/need to address;

• Locate hidden strengths or underutilized resources that could be developed;

• Determine which resources could contribute to comprehensive strategies, and in what way;

• Design effective, collaborative strategies that engage the community because they respond to real and important conditions; and

• Empower the community members by giving them a role in designing and implementing the strategies.

The process of conducting a The process of conducting a community assessmentcommunity assessment

1. Scanning the community to locate existing information

2. Developing a focus

3. Identifying community assets and the degree to which they are accessible to the people who can benefit from them

4. Analyzing the information obtained through the first three steps

Guiding Principles Guiding Principles of Community Assessmentsof Community Assessments

• A clear vision statement should guide the assessment

• An assessment should focus on specific topics

• Assessment is an ongoing process.

• An accurate assessment views the community from multiple perspectives

• An effective assessment takes an in-depth look at diversity within a community

Initial Information GatheringInitial Information Gathering• Identify characteristics of your community

• Who has criminal jurisdiction over (sex crimes) committed in your community?

• Which agencies are involved?

• What is the incidence of (sexual assault) within your community?

• Are community members aware of what to do if a (sexual assault) occurs?

• What are the barriers to getting and providing immediate help?

Agency/Discipline Specific Agency/Discipline Specific and Coordination Informationand Coordination Information

Note that questions for criminal justice agencies apply to response described in the “focus”.

•How does each discipline/agency respond?

o If more than one agency within a discipline responds, consider each agency’s response.

• Victim Advocacy• Law Enforcement• Healthcare• Prosecution• Other services

Matching (Comparing) Matching (Comparing)

InformationInformation

• Use multiple sources/methods for informing the assessment

• Comparisons of information collected from several sources can reveal important trends.

Mapping Assets/ResponsesMapping Assets/Responses

• Mapping helps to create a visual for identifying gaps, linkages, steps, etc.

911 call

Squads investigate

Arrest No arrest

Arrest report Non-Arrest report

Jail

Arraignment hearing

No-contact order

Conditions of release

Pre-Trial/ hearing Trial Sentencing

Monitoring/probation

Non-bondable offense status preferred

Victim needs assessed and plan developed

from options

Squads carry victim

advocate notification

cards

Victim Advocate notified

Advocate responds

Other needs addressed when appropriate

Emergency medical services (EMT)

Strengths and Areas for Strengths and Areas for Improvement IdentifiedImprovement Identified

• Define and evaluate the success of current response within the “focus”

• Create recommendations for enhancing or improving responses

A Good Community A Good Community AssessmentAssessment• Is guided by its vision statement.

o Reviewing the principles and goals expressed in your vision statement will help your partnership keep on track.

• Has comprehensive strategies that are victim-centered/survivor-centered. o You can prioritize and differentiate the

information you have collected by starting with information gathered from victims/survivors.

• Has collaborative partnerships and comprehensive strategies that respond to multiple perspectives. o Comparing information on the same assets and

issues collected from various sources will help you see patterns, trends, and disparities.

Vicki Ybanez

Phone (866) 599-9650 ext. 214Fax (866) 804-6305eMail ybanez@red-wind.net

www.red-wind.net