Modified evaluation planning tools, such as document models, logic models, and program theory models in planning for the evaluation of the coordination of domestic violence services in metropolitan Baltimore, Maryland. Data from a variety of sources (targeted agencies) show that activities of agencies in the coordinated community response are…

Priority setting is examined from the perspective of planning practitioners operating in a major federal regulatory agency. Causes of ambivalence in setting priorities are considered, and ways to reduce ambivalence are suggested. Three models are proposed for setting priorities in the public sector. (SLD)

A model for assessing the needs of the rural elderly based on the goal of empowerment is described and evaluated through a case study in Pennsylvania. Overall, the 63 community workers positively evaluated the needs assessment data derived through the model. Ways to enhance the model are discussed. (SLD)

Issues involved in applying the needs assessment model of the Colorado Social Health Survey to planning and management in Massachusetts are reviewed. The methodology in this special issue provides a new paradigm for mental health needs assessment in general and will be valuable in the Massachusetts plan specifically. (SLD)

Analyzes the importance of incorporating both individual and neighborhood risk factors into predictive mental health needs assessment models. Data from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Survey and the 1980 Census suggest that, with the exception of neighborhood social rank, neighborhood social area dimensions rarely make substantive contributions…

This article describes a series of qualitative and quantitative methods used to test a community-based needs assessment model that is bias free and socioculturally relevant for indigenous populations. Results of a field test involving 100 Hawaiian children are presented, and implications for policy formation are discussed. (SLD)

Implications of the Colorado Social Health Survey for indirect needs assessment in mental health planning and administration are discussed. The survey model parameters' generalizability to other areas of the nation should be investigated, as well as improved ways of linking specific populations to needs, preferences, and outcome dimensions. (SLD)

Service-planning issues necessary for successful implementation of an indirect needs-assessment model to estimate geographical differences in the prevalence of needs for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services are discussed. The issues include selection of need categories as target groups, estimation model selection, and understanding…

Selected executive directors of local and national Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) service organizations were asked about their need and desire for a national organization. Replies of 12 local and 8 national directors confirmed the desire for such an organization and suggested various models for its organization. (SLD)

A summary is provided of a large-scale needs assessment research project in Colorado that tested the validity of several statistical procedures or models for indirectly estimating the need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services across geographic subregions using a Colorado Social Health Survey sample of 4,745 adults. (SLD)

Articles in this special issue use survey data to provide policymakers with validated indirect needs assessment models that will help them obtain information about populations requiring different levels and types of mental health services. The articles provide the basis for predictive needs assessment and explanatory models of resource allocation.…