Summarize the Resource Assessment and the Needs and Gaps Analysis The resource assessment summary should identify the programs and services identified by the community planning team that support the main issues or needs of youth. Although the summary should include the continuum of juvenile prevention services and sanctions, it should not be limited to those programs. Major barriers that may impede the progress of the community planning process should be disclosed. Also, technical assistance that may be required to help the community achieve its goals should be highlighted. The program information in the resource assessment summary can be organized according to a number of variables: risk factors or desired results; a continuum of elements highlighting prevention, intervention, and sanction activities; ages of recipients; intensity of service; geography; or even alphabetical order. The gap analysis should provide the reader with a clear picture of what is and what is not available to youth who are most exposed to the priority risk factors. The community profile and resource assessment summary will provide the foundation on which the team can build a multiyear, prioritized plan for a comprehensive continuum of juvenile delinquency preventions and sanctions for your community. Sometimes objections arise in response to the request for resource assessment information. The emphasis of the needs and gaps analysis on strengths and strengthening existing resources may help to overcome objections. Representatives of the community planning team can address objections by offering to meet with a particular program. The team might develop a strategy that will offer targeted training to programs in the following areas: recruiting participants and marketing the program, best practices for afterschool programs for middle school youth, surveying consumers for continuous quality improvement, and documenting outcomes. Existing programs may also be encouraged to fill gaps by increasing the expectations of their funding sources or increasing the monitoring provided by their funding sources. Tools: Assessment Phase Assessment Phase Milestones Data Collection Action Assignments Useful Web Sites Objective Decisionmaking Action Assignments Inventory of Objective Decisionmaking Systems in the Juvenile Justice System Juvenile Justice Data Juvenile Justice Data Worksheet Juvenile Justice System Sample Flowchart Risk Factor Prioritization Worksheet Community Resource Assessment Action Assignments Community Resource Assessment Inventory Community Resource Assessment Workgroup Chart
28