Madison Cutler | Minnesota SART Program Coordinator at SVJI @MNCASA

Last week we started a series on the 3Ws of Assessment. This week we will continue that discussion.

When a team decides to do an assessment, team members often look to their left and their right and say, “But who?” As a team member, that might seem frustrating. In the case of assessment, it’s crucial to ask who is collecting the information and who are you getting it from.

During an assessment, it’s essential to consider who is collecting the information. Who collects that information might change both the process and outcomes of the assessment. Depending on the collector’s capacity, the process might need to be quicker. Depending on the mandatory reporting requirement, the questions asking during the assessment might need to be different. Also, if a collector has historical conflict with any community or agency, it might change the answers to the assessment.

Similarly, it essential to consider who the team is collecting information from. The team needs to look at whose voices are being heard and whose are missing. But there are other considerations for who the team is collecting information from. Age is one of the most important considerations, as folks under 18 might have different legal rights. Another consideration is the unethical assessment of some communities, especially Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. Lastly, a team should do everything it can to make its assessment as accessible as it can be to ensure anyone who wishes to give input is welcomed.

Stay tuned and let us know in the comments or by emailing svji@mncasa.org if you have any questions!