Essay Example on Developing Goals and Objectives at the Provider Agency

Every program and treatment intervention requires specific goals that offer direction and positive outcomes for clients. Although every agency intervention should have a set of goals, some staffs and agency personnel may lack proper knowledge in developing workable goals. In some cases, the provider agencies may have goals but may appear too vague to offer any direction for measuring progress. Successful program and individual practice intervention require measurable goals because, without specific goals, an intervention would lack a sense of direction in guiding clients to meet their ultimate goals. Measurable goals are time-bound, specific to the needs of the client, and can be considered in relation to other similar goals. Goals are time-bound for short-term, intermediate, and long-term periods. Short run goals are the basis for achieving the intermediate goals which lead to the attainment of the ultimate goal. For instance, in the case of a counseling program, the goals may reveal some form interpersonal development in a client. However, a program meant to refer clients to other provider agencies tends to set goals relating the client to the services offered by the referral agencies.

Workers often support clients in several ways. The objective is always to make a difference in the clients lives by involving them in the decision-making process. Similar to program and treatment interventions, the evaluation process should be responsive to the needs of the client. That can only be achieved if the client participates in the process intended to address his/her needs. Also, program and treatment interventions may have interrelated goals depending on the nature of the clients needs, the resources available, and the expectations of the referral agency. A set of interrelated goals allows a program to be more effective and comprehensive in helping clients achieve their goals than a single goal. In any case, the main reason for having a program is to ensure the outcome goals for clients. A client is usually referred to a particular program with a specific goal. For instance, a client referred to a partial hospitalization program may one outcome goal such as to be able to control anger. In this case, the program should focus on communication skills that can help the client express anger verbally.

While a set of measurable goals are necessary for every intervention to offer direction and outcomes, goals should be accompanied by specific indicators or objectives that act as directives. Measurable objectives inform whether the set goals are being achieved by clients. For example, a single goal may have multiple objectives as each objective may indicate only a small element of the broader goal. For this reason, a social worker developing objectives should focus on a particular time-frame and anticipate the outcomes for a client at that time and how the results will be manifested in the set objectives. For a client visiting a parenting workshop, the social worker may decide that the ultimate goal is to improve the parenting skills of that particular client. In this case, the worker and the client can develop some indicators of improved parenting skills within the set time-frame. Such indicators may include objectives such as verbally express displeasure toward the child three out of the usual five times or specify a time when allowing the child to play with friends.

Goals can also focus on broader systems. Each measurable objective developed for a particular goal can be distinctively applied to a single client or even a group of clients. Unique outcomes may be taken into considerations as well. Particularly, objectives are developed in collaboration with the client basing on the clients expectations and what is achievable. The worker acts as a guide in assisting the client to formulate own objectives and may suggest several ways to state objectives. In some cases, a provider agency may measure the outcome of a social worker under the term measurable objective. In this situation, the worker may be expected to offer social services for clients. Although these objectives are measurable, they tend to focus on staff intervention, rather than client outcomes. As such, many people may confuse the roles of the staff members with the objectives for a clients goal.

Goals and objectives do not usually focus on the activities of the staff but on clients expectations. In other words, objectives typically refer to the indicators of the outcomes set for clients. While measurable objectives are typically performance-oriented, contexts and benchmarks are necessary for formulating the objective. Performance is vital in every measurable objective since it describes what the client is expected to do to achieve the set goal. As such, it should be realistic and actionable, rather than a hypothetical word. Context describes the previous observable condition that occurs before a performance. For example, after identifying a programs goal, the client will develop several objectives that will indicate whether the goal has been achieved. Similar to contexts, benchmarks can add useful information in the formulation of objectives. For instance, an objective may be formulated for a client such as, The client will attend partial hospitalization program. A benchmark may be added to this objective to provide more information such as, The client will attend AA meetings for a specified period. While measurable objectives help in the achievement of clients goal, it is important to involve client at every step in the evaluation process to identify specific goals that need to be meet.