Planning

Health & Human Services

The goal of human services planning is to help allocate finite resources and organize interdependent activities in such a way as to best achieve social ends with the available means.

With this goal in mind, the Herkimer-Oneida Counties Comprehensive Planning program has continued its agreements with both Oneida and Herkimer Counties Departments of Social Services and Oneida County Youth Bureau. Staff prepares plans, conducts needs assessments and evaluations, coordinates program developments, and examines the services delivery system. Assistance is provided on a consultant basis. Planning staff supplements Social Services' and Youth Bureaus' staff efforts and works together with them to establish a more focused planning process. Human services planning involves specific service areas, for example, protective and preventive services, foster care and adoption services, health care, employment, mental health and education, as well as specific populations such as youth, elderly, and the homeless.

The four general functional areas of human services planning activities include: 1) formal plan preparation; 2) needs assessments, research projects and evaluations; 3) program planning, and 4) organizational analysis.