Community Planning

General Plan - Social Development Element

INTRODUCTION
The purposes of the Social section are to define the role and responsibility of the City in the area of social planning and to provide for planning and delivery of human services. It also represents a vehicle by which social concerns brought directly into the planning process. Through the incorporation of Social section in the General Plan, recognition is given to the importance of the social environment in the community development process.

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BACKGROUND

Issues and Problems

1. Bringing social concerns into the planning process.
2. Lack of clear understanding of the City's role and responsibility in planning and delivery of social services.
3. Lack of adequate information on assessing human needs and evaluating effectiveness of social service programs.
4. Need for improvement in coordination between agencies in the public and private sectors to insure that services appropriate to community needs are developed.

Opportunities

1. To develop a truly comprehensive planning process incorporating physical, economic, social and environmental factors.
2. To increase effectiveness of programs and services by focusing available resources on unmet needs and reducing unnecessary duplication of effort.
3. Revenue sharing programs provide resources to be utilized for social services in support of a comprehensive community development program.
   

Goals and Objectives

Goal:

The alleviation of human problems through sensitive planning and effective application of resources, on-going evaluation, and continuing commitment to broadly-based and informed citizen participation.

Objectives:

1. A comprehensive planning process which includes social needs and social impacts as integral components in public decision-making,
2. Effective methods to secure informed citizen participation at all points in planning resource allocation, and evaluation process.
3. A coordinated human services planning and delivery system that effectively uses all community resources.
4. Parameters and priorities for the application of City resources in human services.
5. An evaluation mechanism to determine the effectiveness of the human services planning and delivery system within the City.
   

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IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND POLICIES

STRATEGY:

The City to facilitate the development of plans and the application of resources to meet human needs.

Policies:

1. As soon as the necessary criteria and methods are developed and adopted, the City shall determine and evaluate the social impacts of major physical, environmental, economic and social changes, where the City has appropriate authority. The social impacts of such changes shall be given at least equal standing with other factors in determining their acceptability.
2. The City of Pasadena will provide necessary human services directly only when it is not Possible for other community agencies to provide such services. or where it can be demonstrated that the City can deliver such services in a more effective and economic manner.
3. In all cases where the City is the prime sponsor of human services every effort will be made to contract with appropriate community agencies for implementation of programs.
4. Broad representation and community participation at all levels of planning, resource allocation and evaluation are to be parts of all human service programs.
5. Human Services are to be administered in a manner which respects the dignity of the individual and fosters self-sufficiency and individual choice.
6. Coordination between public and private agencies and various levels of government in human service field and elimination of overlapping efforts shall have major priority.
7. The City will seek maximum use of federal, state, regional and private resources to solve social problems which are area-wide in nature.
   

Programs:

1. Design of evaluation systems to ensure effectiveness of human service delivery programs.
2. Development of a method for establishing community priorities in human services within the framework of an overall, long-range plan for meeting human needs.
3. Development of mechanisms for communication, joint planning and coordination with other levels of government. public agencies and the private sector.
4. Development of criteria and methods to enable the City to determine and evaluate the social impact of major physical, environmental, economic and social changes; these criteria and methods to be made available for public evaluation prior to adoption.
   

REFERENCES

"Human Service Resources Inventory", Advance Planning Division. Community Development Department. City of Pasadena, June, 1975.

"Resource Allocation Process". City of Pasadena, Nov.,, 1973.

"Pasadena: Poverty in the City of Roses." Pasadena Community Services Commission, Inc., (Pasadena. Calif. - Part 1. October, 1973: Part 11, May, 1975).

"Planning for the Aging: Los Angeles County, Region II." Community Planning

Forum, United Way (Arcadia, Calif. - December, 1973).