The welcome Senior Centre is an organization established in 1979 in Washington DC to take care of the ever increasing number of older people in the city. The city with a population of 646,449 has over 21% of this population as old people aged 65 years who needs care and protection. Thus, Welcome Centre plays a pivotal role in taking care of this population. However, its efficiency is hampered by factors such as the language barrier between its staff and the service seekers. Many older people of the DC society are Latino, who mainly speaks Spanish. They barely understand English and therefore are unable to get adequate services from the staff who speaks English. Welcome Senior Centre has initiated a five-year plan to ensure that this challenge is addressed so as to ensure it offers all-inclusive services to all older people in the city.
Goal of the program
Goals refer to a broad long term intention that an organization wants to achieve (Karsh 157). (Karsh 157). It is that specific issue that Welcome Centre wants to do to improve its service delivery. The Centre acknowledges that achieving a goal is always hampered by factors that are numerous, complex, and out of control of most possible intervention. It has, therefore, proposed five-year duration upon whose expiry the goal ought to have been achieved. The goal of the centre shall be:
Objectives of the program
Objectives refer to outcomes expected from the program itself. At the end of the five years, the objectives will act as a tool for evaluating the success of the program (Karsh 157). The objectives include:
Improvement in the staff ability to fluently converse in Spanish-language
Welcome Centre is keen to maintain its tradition of providing a fulfilling life to older members of the DC. It acknowledges that such a life nourishes individual's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs (Karsh 157). However, it is worthy to note that this is only possible if there is an effective communication between the service provider and the service consumers. It is, therefore, the objective of the Centre to ensure that its staff can communicate fluently in Spanish language in the next two years.
Improving the attitude of the Latino Spanish speakers towards the Centre
Although the Centre has experienced and qualified staffs who work together with local volunteers highly, it has been hard to improve the attitude of Latino Spanish speakers due to miscommunication. Thus, the program is expected to improve the Centre's ability to converse with our clients who will encourage them to visit the Centre more often.
Increase in the number of Spanish speakers at the Centre.
Currently, only 12% of Latino speaking English seek service from the Centre. The Centre however loses over 50 people who leave because they miss volunteers to interpret for them. It is, anticipated that within the five years 70% of Latino speaker will visit the Centre.
Methods
Training
The staff would undergo a 78-hour training a week on Spanish language. The training would encompass both class work and oral practices to ascertain the improvement of the staff in this language. They would sit for exams at the end of every stage and those who complete a stage move to the next stage.
Marketing of the Centre
The attitude of the Spanish speakers towards the Centre would only improve if the locals are assured that they can be served properly. The Centre should conduct marketing of the Centre in Spanish language to attract the Spanish speakers
Employing full-time Spanish speaking staff
As the staff becomes more fluent in Spanish language, the Centre will have full-time Spanish-speaking staff at its disposal. Thus, there would be an increase in old people seeking for service since there would be sufficient staff to attend to them. It is expected that the number of Latino visitors will increase to 70% at the end of the program.
Work Cited
Karsh, E. “Goals and Objectives: What Do You Hope to Achieve if You Get the Money?” The
Only Grant-Writing Book you’ll ever need. New York: Basic Books, 2014. 157-167. Print.
