In today's rapidly changing world, new social and human service problems emerge constantly, and in order to make good use of resources that are often limited, social service agencies must ensure that their services are truly needed. Needs assessments provide a baseline against which later results can be compared, and may also assist policy-makers in recognizing new trends or problems on the horizon. With so much hinging on their outcome, these assessments must be conducted both accurately and efficiently, and this pocket guide will give practitioners the ability to do so.