Self-Assessment: Understanding Participants’ Needs and Goals

Topic Area: Participant Needs

This tool is for organization and/or program leaders administering economic empowerment programs and program staff who provide direct services. It may be useful in both crisis intervention and longer-term services.

Who should complete this self-assessment?

Welcome to Self-Assessment Tool: Understanding Participants’ Needs and Goals

Instructions: For each line, select one answer that best describes your organization’s current practices.

Participant Needs and Goals

	Yes	Sometimes	No	N/A
Does your program assess whether a participant has immediate housing, safety, or basic needs that need to be met before they can participate in economic empowerment programming?
Does your program have a way to assess whether a participant has legal needs that may determine whether they can fully participate in programming?
Does your program provide participants with an overview of economic empowerment activities available through your organization or in your community?
Do participants choose which economic empowerment activities they would like to participate in at your organization?
Does your program assess a participant’s baseline financial experiences and goals?
Does your program ask participants about their career interests, options, and goals?
Does your program assess a participant’s readiness for employment?
Does your program assess a participant’s career training, experience, and transferable skills?

Supports Needed to Accomplish Goals

Does your organization ask about a participant’s:

	Yes	Sometimes	No	N/A
scheduling preferences related to participating in programs?
preferences related to the modality of programming (in-person, on-line, combination of both) to be able to participate?
transportation needs to participate in programming?
childcare needs to participate in programming?
language needs to participate in programming and ensure access to program documents in their preferred language?
accessibility needs to participate in programming?
Literacy or educational needs to participate in programming?

Collecting and Incorporating Participant Input

	Yes	Sometimes	No	N/A
Does your organization ask participants, before they begin programming, about what they hope to learn or accomplish through their participation?
Does your organization solicit participant feedback throughout the program?
Does your organization incorporate participant feedback in the design, redesign, or assessment of your program?
Has your program established desired outcomes or success measures?