PROJECT SUMMARY
This purpose
of this project, funded by the National
Crime Prevention Centre, was to develop a Gender-Sensitive Needs
Assessment tool for supporting at-risk girls and young women. The tool
was expected to meet the following criteria:
- be designed in
a way that is simple and easy to use
- include questions
that are not presently being asked
- improve workers’
understanding of at-risk girls’ needs
- result in better
planning to meet the needs of at-risk girls
- involve youth
directly in the assessment and planning process
In the course
of designing the gender-sensitive needs assessment tool, the project
team also strove to:
- identify gaps
in services and/or delivery integration that impede young women’s
access to socially positive experiences with family, friends, education,
employment, housing and recreation
- facilitate a
better understanding of the issues that at-risk young women face in
their relations with boys/young men
- highlight the
ways in which socialized expectations related to culture and gender
pervade the experiences of at-risk young women and their workers.
This needs assessment
tool was developed in collaboration with workers and youth in three
Vancouver Island communities. Through sharing their thoughts, feelings,
opinions and beliefs, these youth and workers have ensured that this
tool is relevant to their living and practice needs. This needs assessment
tool was developed in three phases between April and December 2001.
The first phase of the project involved introducing the project in each
community and arranging to have meetings with groups of workers in order
to determine the questions that should be asked during individual interviews
with youth and workers planned for Phase II. In arranging the Phase
II individual interviews to help develop components of the needs assessment
tool, the project team strove to ensure a balance of male and female
youth and worker participants. Additionally, the team strove to include
a range of workers in varying roles from numerous agencies, and youth
of different ages, ethnic backgrounds and life situations.
In addition
to conducting the individual interviews, the project team conducted
a full review of the literature on needs
assessment and a review and analysis of existing assessment tools used
by workers who participated in the project (see Appendix E of the Full
Report). From October to December, 2001, new workers and youth were
asked to pilot-test the draft tool and provide their feedback to the
project team. Revisions were made based on the feedback offered by all
the project participants and the information obtained through reviewing
the literature and sample of existing tools. The tool — Gender-Sensitive
Guide for Needs Assessment for Youth — is available for download
and printing on this site. It includes a full introduction,
underlying assumptions and a user orientation.
The underlying objectives and assumptions for each need domain (Context,
Connectedness, Care,
Capability, Change)
are described at the beginning of each domain page.
One of the original
objectives behind the development of this tool, was to provide a tool
that was sensitive to identifying the needs of at-risk girls. Throughout
the project, it became increasingly clear that needs assessment was
generally taking a back seat to risk assessment in the practice of youth
work. Through developing a tool that is open to gender in a way that
is non-prescriptive, this tool will contribute to identifying the needs
of at-risk girls while also being relevant to the needs of at-risk boys.
The introduction to the Gender-sensitive Guide for Needs Assessment
for Youth and the review of the literature both include additional
information about the orientation to gender and culture reflected in
the tool.
Another piece
of this project involved working with the BC Ministry
for Children and Family Development (MCFD) to compile a service
directory database listing services in the Greater Victoria region.
To download
the entire Project Report, click here.
We welcome your
feedback and would enjoy to hear about your experiences using the tool.
Please forward your
feedback to:
Diana Nicholson
Project Coordinator
School of
Child and Youth Care
P.O. Box 1700, Stn. CSC
Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2
Fax: (250) 721-7218
email: djn@uvic.ca
