Community Agency Project
Go https://petersplaceonline.org/ (do not use other organizations) and do research before you answer to all questions.
Background
1. How was the agency created?
2. Indicate the population/geographical areas served by the agency to be investigated.
3. Indicate the reason for the agency’s existence.
Agency Environment
1. Provide a detailed description of the exterior and interior of the building.
2. Describe the neighborhood and available transportation. List all issues clients need to consider for their travel to this agency (e.g., buses drop off 2 blocks away, parking fee is $10 an hour).
3. Describe what a client might expect when making the initial contact (e.g., do agency personnel return the initial appointment call the same day? Is there a long wait to get an appointment?)
4. Day of the visit: Is there a long wait once in the building? Is the waiting room inviting, crowded? Is the staff welcoming? Is the environment clean?, etc.
Problem
1. What are the problems that bring the clients to the agency?
2. What are some of the secondary problems such clients face because of the initial problem?
Interviews
When interviewing with the agency administration, report on the following:
We appreciate your interest in Peter’s Place and for reaching out to us as part of your community agency project.
We are a grieving center for children and families with our mission being to provide safe and supportive environments for grieving children and families and to act as a community resource to foster understanding of the effects of death and grief. We employ a peer support model and therefore we do not provide therapy or counseling services. Given our model we do not have “actual results”.
1. Services performed by the administrators and service staff.
2. In-take procedures and eligibility requirements for admission/acceptance.
3. Type of service provided by this agency – what is provided to clients.
4. Expected outcomes – what is the ultimate goal-what clients should expect.
5. Actual results – ultimate goal vs. reality (e.g., the success rate of services provided). Responses that simply indicate that the staff or the clients seem pleased are not sufficient.
Evaluation
1.How effectively and efficiently is the agency run? Your response should include the interviewer’s information as well as your own critical assessment. You should not simply write that all is great with the agency.
2. Would you recommend sending students/clients to this agency? Support your conclusions including concrete benefits/reasons.
3. Identify some creative (not typical ideas – you need to be very creative!) solutions to the problems faced by the agency. No agency is without some problems. Be thoughtful in your analysis and very innovative in your suggested solutions. Only innovation, creative solutions will receive full credit (in other words – think ‘outside the box’ – fundraisers, etc. are not creative).
