Using Family Needs Assessments to Guide Place‐Based Services for Vulnerable Families: Lessons From the COVID‐19 Pandemic.

The COVID‐19 pandemic created significant health, social and economic impacts, disproportionately affecting minority, immigrant and low‐income communities. Agencies were challenged to rapidly address emerging needs, yet most operated on anecdotal information. This paper describes a community‐informe...

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Published in:Child & Family Social Work Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 423 - 433
Main Authors: Soriano, Elizabeth, Alonso, Betty, Rivera, Yanexy, Perrino, Tatiana
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Aug2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
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        atl: Using Family Needs Assessments to Guide Place‐Based Services for Vulnerable Families: Lessons From the COVID‐19 Pandemic.
      aug:
        au:
          Soriano, Elizabeth
          Alonso, Betty
          Rivera, Yanexy
          Perrino, Tatiana
        affil: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami Florida,, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          COVID-19 Pandemic Florida
          Family
          Needs Assessment
          Special Populations
          Socioeconomic Factors
          Educational Status
          Health Status
          Community-Institutional Relations
          Collaboration
          Community Health Services
          Academic Medical Centers
          Human
          Florida
          Organizations, Nonprofit
          Conceptual Framework
          Multimethod Studies
          Surveys
          Focus Groups
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Funding Source
      ab: The COVID‐19 pandemic created significant health, social and economic impacts, disproportionately affecting minority, immigrant and low‐income communities. Agencies were challenged to rapidly address emerging needs, yet most operated on anecdotal information. This paper describes a community‐informed family needs assessment in Miami, Florida, during November 2020–March 2021. It was conducted by a nonprofit agency collaborating with a university. The aims were to capture socio‐economic, educational and health needs experienced during the early pandemic to inform place‐based services. Eighty‐one participants, mostly Hispanic, foreign‐born parents, completed an anonymous online survey of pandemic experiences, with 15 parents participating in additional, in‐depth focus group discussions. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, results show that perceived economic, educational and psychosocial needs often exceeded and complicated health impacts, with basic needs including food/housing assistance, occupational programmes and online support groups. By coordinating the response around identified needs, this community–academic partnership strengthened and targeted their place‐based public health response, an approach that can serve to guide other communities.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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