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Community Assessment — Step 3: Form A Community Assessment Team
- Who Are Your Community Partners?
- Who are Potential Team Members?
- Selecting Community Assessment Team Members
- Recruiting Team Members
- Create a Vision for an Aging Friendly Community
- The Next Steps
- Related Links
In order to assess your community and create action steps for the future, you must enlist the support of community leaders who will provide the support and leadership needed to make your community aging-friendly.
The coordinating entity should identify and convene a diverse group of stakeholders representing all areas of Aging Texas Well and all cultural, socioeconomic, and public, private, faith and nonprofit sectors of the community. Use the Aging Texas Well Model as a guide in selecting representatives.
Who Are Your Community Partners?
- Have you established a relationship with the regional Area Agency on Aging
(AAA)?
- Your first partner in the Aging Texas Well Community Assessment should be the AAA.
- Who are the key elected officials — state senator and representative, county judge, mayor, and Texas Silver Haired Legislator?
- Who is the governing authority?
- Who is responsible for developing and enforcing the laws, ordinances, and policies of your community?
- Does this authority come from the state, regional, county, city, or neighborhood level?
- Who are the aging service providers?
- Which entities provide direct services and support to older adults and their families?
- Do these providers have programs specifically designed for older adults or do they serve the general population?
- What is the primary source of funding for these services (e.g., federal, state, local, not-for-profit, for-profit)?
- Who are the aging advocates?
- Which organizations advocate for the rights, needs, and interests of older adults and their families? For example identify members of the Texas Silver Haired Legislature, AAA Citizen's Advisory Committee, Gray Panthers, or other senior-oriented advocacy groups in the community.
- Which corporate, nonprofit, or faith-based organizations have
a particular interest in aging issues?
- Are there nonpublic organizations in the community that work with public entities to support older adults?
- What are the collaborative goals for aging well?
- What types of partnerships are in place? What type of services or programs do they provide?
- Have you included all partners critical for planning efforts resulting from the assessment or their interest in aging issues?
Who are Potential Team Members?
- Area Agency on Aging
- Older adult consumers
- Elected officials
- Caregivers
- Government officials (state, regional, county, city)
- Recreation and leisure services
- Economic development/research organizations
- Senior program representatives
- Transportation providers
- Volunteers
- Health care providers
- Large and small community employers
- Bankers/financial advisors
- Utilities
- Realtors and other housing providers
- Faith-based entities
- Council of Governments
- Aging advocates
- Chamber of Commerce
- Local medical society
- 2-1-1 Coordinate
- Local United Way
Selecting Community Assessment Team Members
Community Assessment Team members should:
- Be well-known and respected.
- Represent key organizations as described above.
- Be willing to commit time and resources to the process for at least two years.
- Have a basic understanding of the needs facing older adults and their families.
- Demonstrate an interest in seeing their community grow and prosper.
Recruiting Team Members
While most potential partners will likely agree that an Aging Texas Well Community Assessment Process is a good idea, they are faced with limited staff, time, and resources. Therefore, it is essential to spend the time needed to recruit the critical partners to the Community Assessment Team. The following resources can help establish the Community Assessment Team:
Create a Vision for an Aging Friendly Community
The first objective of the Community Assessment Team is to create a vision for your aging friendly community. A vision statement is typically defined as a picture of a preferred future. Such a statement allows the Community Assessment Team to agree on the outcome of the process, frame the issues that must be addressed, and determine how to measure progress and achieve success.
The initial discussions of the Community Assessment Team should focus on the following questions:
- Which problems does our community need to address?
- Which Aging Texas Well areas do we need to focus to on achieve our vision?
- Does our team represent the diverse interests of our community?
- What are the steps in our community assessment process and who is responsible for carrying them out?
- How will we know our project is successful?
- How will we measure progress and success?
- How will we communicate success to the community?
The Next Steps
- Understand the Key Principles of Community Assessment
- Define your Community
- Form A Community Assessment Team
- Use the ATW Community Assessment Survey
- Take Action and Plan for Your Future
Related Links
For more information about Aging Texas Well, please e-mail the Aging Texas Well coordinator at: AgingTexasWellCoordinator@dads.state.tx.us.
Updated: September 15, 2009