Running head: THUMBPRINT PROJECT 1
Antonio Covington
Johnson C. Smith University
November 13, 2017
THUMBPRINT PROJECT 2
Introduction
The Center for Community Transitions (CCT) is a non-profit organization established in
1974. Our purpose is to strengthen the community by helping those with criminal records
navigate paths towards healthy and productive lives. For more than forty years, we have
provided a variety of services at CCT, aiding individuals who are currently incarcerated, those
released from incarceration, as well as their children and families. The mission’s agency is to
strengthen our community by helping people with criminal records and their families find a
healthier and more productive way of living (Community Transition Charlotte, NC Home, 2017).
Discuss in detail the concern/need in your agency that you have identified. Has anything
been done to address the concern/need before? If so what has been done? If it has not been
addressed, why has the agency not addressed it?
Prior to interns being placed at LifeWorks! They must complete a two-week employment
readiness training course that covers: Personal branding, answering the conviction question,
resume writing, and how to network with employers. After the completion of the training
program, prior to having direct one on one contact with clients an intern or volunteer needs to
have a mock performance evaluation to ensure they can effectively engage the clients with the
agency’s services. An intern/volunteer first initial contact with the client is the start of
developing a rapport, and if this is unsuccessful it may affect the interns/volunteer to obtain the
necessary information from the client. Since our agency does not only work with social work
interns, this issue has not been address because the other volunteers are not aware of how to
utilize social work skills.
THUMBPRINT PROJECT 3
Describe the sources that you used in collecting your needs assessment.
After I identified the need of having a performance evaluation prior to meeting with the
clients, I spoke with several interns and volunteers at the agency about this idea. Their response
was positive and agreed that it would be beneficial to complete a mock intake form prior to
meeting with clients because it would help them feel more comfortable by knowing what to say,
how to say it, and what to look for. After having a conversation with LifeWorks! Program
Director Erik Ortega about the identified need, he was open and supportive and he stated this
could help individuals feel more confident and competent when working with the clients.
Learning how to properly document is important to any agency’s success especially when you’re
a nonprofit and are subjected to audits. (E. Ortega, personal communication, November 6, 2017.)
Sufficient Resources
Currently, there are a total of seven interns and volunteers at the agency that can
complete the mock performance evaluation.
THUMBPRINT PROJECT 4
Proposed Project: The Art of Being Competent: A Performance Evaluation
Explain in detail the project you are proposing to address the concern/need of the agency.
The Art of Being Competent: A Performance Evaluation project will be used to help
individuals who lack experience documenting and interviewing clients learn the appropriate
skills to be successful at the agency. The performance evaluation created will serve as a
professional evaluation tool to identify areas of success and weaknesses when completing a
client intake. This performance evaluation tool can serve as an ongoing guide to determine
whether individuals are able to properly document and interview clients.
Barriers or resistance that may develop
Agency resistance to implement change
Time
Individual not willing to participate
Resources and materials needed
First, I will create a performance evaluation learning tool for the client advisors to use
when interns/volunteers are completing a mock intake assessment form. I will obtain blank
copies of the agency’s forms:
1. Intake Forms
2. Right to Services
3. Confidentiality Form
THUMBPRINT PROJECT 5
Goals and Objectives
SPECIFIC- Social worker intern will create a performance evaluation learning tool that will be
used to evaluate the competency and confidence of how to engage a client during the intake
process.
MEASURABLE- The client advisors will use the performance evaluation tool to review the
interns/volunteers completed forms to provide feedback on whether they are ready to work with
clients one on one.
ACHIEVABLE- If the client’s performance evaluation learning tool indicates they have
correctly completed the agency’s intake form, it will demonstrate their competence of doing a
client intake independently.
RELEVANT- The intern/volunteer will have gained the necessary skills to assist the clients at
the agency.
TIME-BOUND - The intern/volunteer will complete this task by March 23, 2018.
GOAL - The main goal of the Art of Being Competent: A Performance Evaluation is to create a
learning tool that the interns/volunteers to determine what skilled areas needs to be improved, or
if additional intake documentation skills training is needed.
Objective: To learn and understand the correct way to fill out agency intake forms for clients.
TIMELINE- This performance evaluation learning tool can be an ongoing activity that interns
can use whenever someone is having difficulties completing the agencies forms.
Learning Activity Date
Intern will complete intake form October 2017 – December 2017
Intern will complete right to services October 2017- December 2017
Intern will complete confidentiality October 2017 – December 2017
Intern will create the performance evaluation October 2017-December 2017
tool.
THUMBPRINT PROJECT 6
References
Welcome to the Center for Community Transitions (CCT). (n.d.). Retrieved November 08, 2017,
from http://www.centerforcommunitytransitions.org/
