Planning Your Program
The Planning Process
As you bring together a committee to plan your own Good Samaritans program, ask yourself these questions:
Who will we serve? (What population? What kind of crime?)
What geographic region can we serve?
What kinds of services will we provide?
What kinds of volunteers do we need?
How will we recruit volunteers?
Who will do the criminal background checks?
Who will provide training? When and where?
How long and for what time periods will volunteers be asked to commit?
What are the volunteers' scheduling needs?
How will we communicate with and dispatch our volunteers?
Are there liability concerns we need to address?
Do we need outside funding sources to operate our program?
Who will be accountable for financial operations?
How will we measure our results?
Who will supervise volunteers?
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What kind of reporting and evaluation procedures and documentation will we needed?
How will we show our appreciation for the volunteers' work and recognize them?
What kind of credentials should volunteers carry?
How will we get publicity about our program?
After you and your partners have answered these questions and recruited your first volunteers, it's time to start training.