Five Steps to Community Assessment For American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start Programs

This workbook presents a step-by-step, user-friendly resource concerning the steps to community assessment for American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start programs. Community assessment is the collection and analysis of information on the characteristics and needs of American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start/Early Head Start eligible children and families in the grantee service area and the resources available to meet those needs. There are seven basic reasons for conducting a community assessment: (1) meeting Federal requirements, (2) decision making and program planning, (3) training and human resource development, (4) community resources, (5) advocacy, (6) responding to changing policies and programs, and (7) applying for funds in addition to the basic Head Start grant. The steps of the community assessment include: (1) plan and organize, (2) design the data collection, (3) gather data, (4) review and analyze data, and (5) make decisions based on the results of the community assessment.