Discussion 1: Social Change

There is a variety of elements that human services professionals should consider when they are developing and evaluating human services programs. Some of these elements include conducting a needs assessment, developing a problem statement and hypothesis, and determining goals and objectives for the program. Additionally, human services professionals can evaluate how programs can or did elicit social change as they develop and evaluate programs.

In this Discussion, you will present your Final Project to your colleagues. You will explore how your program might influence social change in a community in which it was implemented. You will also consider how your program could be evaluated in terms of its goals and objectives as well as its ability to elicit a desired social change.

To prepare for this Discussion:  

• Review Chapter 6 in your course text, focusing on how the particular design of a program evaluation influences social change.
• Review the article “Developing a Progressive Advocacy Program Within a Human Services Agency,” focusing on how this program created social change. Think about those concepts you could use in your own project.
• Review the article “Creating High-Impact Nonprofits.” Consider what suggestions you could use in creating social change.
• Review the design of the human services program you developed for your Final Project.
• Consider what kinds of social change your program could elicit in a particular community.
• Reflect on the type of evaluation that would be effective if your program were to be implemented in a community.

With these thoughts in mind:

• Do a summary of the program design you developed for your Final Project. Then, explain how your program might influence social change in the community you selected. Be specific and provide examples. Finally, discuss how the effectiveness of your program might be evaluated with attention to social change.