| Abstrakt: |
This article informs that community development (CD) insights for planning public social service innovations. This paper has identified a number of specific CD concepts which, if considered, would have contributed to more realistic project planning and the implementation of a more effective and efficient innovative service model. These concepts include: defining the local community, encourage local participation, and considering total community needs and conditions when planning local services. Satellite Centers were designed by externally-based human service professionals based upon an incomplete understanding of social service needs in Redlands and Stockton. Organizational concerns and perceptions of the host service agency shaped the proposed design of the Centers. During project implementation, the staff responded to local service needs and requests, often to the detriment of testing the original service design. Staff sensitivity to local service demands during implementation compensated for flaws in project planning. The systematic consideration of CD concepts would have made the Satellite Centers a more effective and efficient vehicle for meeting local service needs. Analysis of this experience suggests that there is a need for integrating CD content in the education and in-service training of all social service professionals. Social service providers, planners, and administrators need to understand the interaction of community, problem, and program. Although the social caseworker, service planner, or program administrator may not practice CD as a primary method, the professional use of CD concepts is necessary to be an effective service worker, planner, or administrator. |
