Assessing the needs of inner city youth: Beyond needs identification and prioritization

Many needs assessment studies have focused on identification and prioritization, but contextual needs assessment studies, which provide a more in-depth analysis of community problems, are also possible, including attempts to monitor existing services and analyze breakdowns in the delivery system. Focusing on services for youths in an inner city neighborhood, the researchers not only ask youths, parents, and community leaders to identify needs, but also analyze which groups of youth seem most in need of which services. Furthermore, the study points to problems in the delivery system, particularly the lack of public awareness of existing services. While youths complain of unmet needs, they themselves fail to use services that could meet these needs. At the same time, moreover, many youths who are aware of available services shy away from them because of misconceptions about service delivery. The article concludes with suggesting possible solutions to these problems as well as implications for further research.