Community Development Approach

Question: Discuss about the Community Development Approach. Answer: Introduction A community is a large or small group of individuals who have something in common such as values, norms, beliefs, and identity (Shragge, 2013).Usually, societies share a sense of place that is situated in a particular geographic area. The population located in Melbourne City is the community that I would like to work with under Blue Ribbon. Blue Ribbon aims to build inclusive societies by enabling equitable access to resources and opportunities for people who are living in under sourced and disadvantaged areas. Critical to this program is a community development approach to address social exclusion and promote inclusion. Figure 1: Community development approach Identifying the Geographic Location of Work The community developed program will be concentrated in a specific location such as school, community hub or service area. The work will not be confined to these setting, it will span across the broader area. This view of the place is essential as people move on a daily basis around and beyond their localities. There are four aspects to be considered when selecting a place (Craig, Mayo, Popple, Shaw, Taylor, 2011) Information: Data and reports will be used to identify areas and populations that are disadvantaged. Capacity of the organization Assessment of the organization capacity is required to determine whether the firm can engage in all activities. It involves assessment of the company expertise, knowledge and skills, resources and organizational support. Other partnerships Determine if there are opportunities to collaborate with other government and other agencies to deliver service responses. Community backing Determine if people living in the locality are willing to work in partnership with the organization to effect change in their area. Figure 2: Factors determining the place of work Place of Work: East Reservoir East Reservoir is the most underprivileged area within the City of Darebin. In this location, there are inadequate health services, high rates of unemployment, no childcare facilities, large number of sole parent families, minimal opportunities to participate in educational and employment opportunities, and poor infrastructure and public transport services. The strengths of this locality include a commitment from agencies to work together to improve and increase access to resources within the local area, committed residents and a population that is keen to develop new skills which may include taking on a leadership role, specific employment training and contributing to an advisory group. Appropriation of Startup Resources This phase begins by involving apportionment of funds to employ a worker to undertake planning. Resource allocation is needed to establish infrastructure for the Community Development practitioner position, including program running costs: information technology, travel and general office expenses (Buchroth Parkin, 2010).This phase also involves apportionment of discretionary money. Discretionary money enhances community participation and consultation activities (Green Goetting, 2010). For instance, child care can be offered as part of a strategy to engage sole parents with young children to participate in a focus group to discuss their parent support needs. Establishing Partnerships to Deliver Coordinated, Integrated Services This phase involves working collaboratively to advance unified, responsive service edges that meet the necessities of the individuals living in the locality. The partnership can be seen on a continuum involving networking, coordinating, cooperating and collaborating. The continuum is dependent on willingness to share resources, degree of commitment, trust, risk involved, change required, and level of interdependence (Scales, Streeter, Cooper, 2013) Consulting with the Community members to Identify the needs and Services Gaps Building and strengthening societies is a continuous process and community arrangement an essential constituent in this process. It encompasses a robust obligation to building trust over an extended duration(Briskman, 2007).This phase involves conducting a series of focus groups within the East Reservoir area with a wide range of residents to identify community strengths, needs, barriers to participation, service gaps and aspirations for local areas. Formulating and Executing Service Responses This step involves undertaking a mapping exercise to find resources to implement and evaluate the activities. The exercise includes exploration of resources available through each partner agency, including: in-kind, workforce and monetary contributions (Gilchrist, 2009). It also encompasses formulating a work plan guides the implementation of program activities Work plan: Lalor Park Primary School Community Hub Project Deliverable 1: To combine and expand current activities of the hub Strategic area Activity Program Implementation timeline Key performance indicators Consultation with Anglicare parent zone playgroup facilitators, Plenty Valley Community Health and Whittlesea community Community Development (CD) practitioner organizes preliminary introductory meetings with each playgroup facilitator Weeks commencing 8th January 2018 to 29th January 2018 Groups accessing services at the community hub CD practitioner to organize meeting schedule for playgroup facilitators Continuous meetings commencing 8th January 2018 Constant participation of the groups taking part in the program Play group facilitators to fill evaluation forms Continuous evaluation starting March 2018 Increase in the number of groups and facilitators that are satisfied with the activities CD worker to review Hub activities through informal Discussions with groups and completing evaluation forms Constant process starting February 2018 Rise in the number of groups that feel the Community Hub is a friendly environment Figure 3: Work plan Sustainability and evaluation Continuously evaluating and planning for sustainability at each step of the process plays a significant role in the success of the program. Constant evaluation of the work done demonstrates evidence-based successes which are used as a basis for further development of program activities. Reflecting on how the work is done ensure quality and effective service delivery (Kenny, 2017). References Briskman, L. ( 2007). Social work with Indigenous communities. Federation Press. Buchroth, I., Parkin, C. ( 2010). Using theory in youth and community work practice. Learning Matters. Craig, G., Mayo, M., Popple, K., Shaw, M., Taylor, M. ( 2011). The community development reader: History, themes and issues. Policy Press. Gilchrist, A. ( 2009). The well-connected community: a networking approach to community development. Policy Press. Green, G. P., Goetting, A. (2010). Mobilizing communities: Asset building as a community development strategy. Temple University Press. Kenny, S. (2017). evelopng communities fot the future. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning. Scales, T. L., Streeter, C. L., Cooper, H. S. ( 2013). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community capacity. John Wiley Sons. Shragge, E. ( 2013). Activism and social change: Lessons for community organizing. University of Toronto Press.