Deck 11: Planning a Human Service Program

Question 1

From your careful reading of the chapter, give a definition of human service planning.

Answer 1

Human service planning is a systematic set of activities that begins when someone identifies a GAP in services that exists somewhere in the community, explores it to make sure it is significant, makes a commitment to help to fill that GAP, and then designs and implements a proposal to fill it.

Question 2

Why does the text assert that planning is first and foremost a process of asking and answering questions?

Answer 2

Asking questions is like shining a flashlight in a dark cellar instead of simply stumbling around looking for something. Questions direct our thinking and protect us from jumping to the wrong or incomplete conclusion. They prepare us to present and defend our ideas by exploring in advance all the 'what ifs' and 'how comes'?

Question 3

Why is it so important to try to sketch as full a picture as possible of the reasons behind a GAP? Where do program ideas come from? Think back to a problem in your high school. If you were a planner, where would you look for some possible program ideas to fill that GAP?

Answer 3

Reasons suggest remedies. Although we can never be absolutely certain about the underlying reasons for a problem, the process of identifying possible causes and then ranking them for importance is vital. Program ideas flow out of an analysis of the reasons for a GAP.
Program ideas come from all over. They are suggested by articles in newspapers, by programs on TV, from hearing speakers at conferences, by casual conversations. We never know where a good idea will come from that will trigger our own creative processes.

Question 4

It is likely that without even realizing you were doing so, you used a technique like a force field analysis before you chose your college. Draw two columns on a paper, place a plus and minus at the top of each and write down two negative and two positive factors that you thought about in making the choice of your present school. What strategies did you use to minimize the two negative forces?

Question 5

What are two ways in which a well-thought-out time flow chart can improve the morale of a task focused group, which is organizing a fund raising event?

Question 6

The primary reason human service workers must acquire good planning skills is:

A) They need to be able to control all the elements of a helping encounter.
B) They need to stay in charge of the helping process.
C) They need to show the client that the worker is well trained.
D) They need to protect the worker and client from straying too far afield.

Question 7

The competent worker should arrive at the point where he or she can commit to memory all the details of a client's problem or a group's task.

Question 8

Asking many questions is likely to divert both worker and client from getting on with the job of planning interventions.

Question 9

Programs to fill GAPs do not necessarily need large sums of money or expertise.

Question 10

The supervised visitation program described in the text was organized so that

A) workers can look at how other agencies do their work.
B) residential treatment centers can be monitored by their board members.
C) a non-custodial parent can have a safe visit with her or his child.
D) students can make informed choices before choosing a college.
E) none of the above.

Question 11

One of the tasks of a worker who is in the trouble shooting phase of the planning process is:

A) Identifying a GAP in services.
B) Proposing a set of strategies to fill a GAP.
C) Delegating the tasks that need to be done.

Question 12

Often, before planners can implement a program to fill a GAP, they must educate the public and legislators about the serious consequences of the lack of services or resources. This process is called:

A) Figuring out causality.
B) Raising consciousness.
C) Writing a proposal.
D) Collecting evidence about the extent of the GAP.

Question 13

In designing a program, it is a diversion of our effort to spend time looking at what others have done. Totally new ideas are needed for new problems.

Question 14

No matter how small or informal the group that is doing the planning, it is still imperative that an action plan be written down.

Question 15

When building a resource bank for a project, we begin by:

A) Ruling out those plans that take too many resources.
B) Listing our own most easily available resources.
C) Writing and carefully keeping track of donation letters.
D) Turning to official agencies for help.

Question 16

The reason that we break the big tasks into a series of smaller ones is:

A) To keep ourselves from feeling immobilized by the enormity of what we are undertaking.
B) To create small tasks that can then be delegated to others to complete.
C) To clearly see the logical progression of tasks that will get us to the goal.
D) All of above.

Question 17

A feedback system is used during the planning period and at its conclusion for the primary purpose of:

A) Establishing blame for any errors that are made.
B) Letting the supervisors know who has done most of the work.
C) Checking up on the client's activities.
D) Telling us to what extent we are meeting our goals and what needs adjusting.

Question 18

The techniques of the planner include troubleshooting, magnifying, and

A) Analyzing.
B) Microscoping.
C) Writing.
D) Turning to official agencies for help.

Question 19

In the microscoping phase of the planning process, we build a resource bank to help us accomplish our plans.