ABSTRACT
Continuous involvement with successive stages of planning and implementation contributes to keeping the process moving forward. This chapter presents a case study to describe a needs assessment for medical rehabilitation services in West Virginia and the process by which a statewide program of services was planned and implemented. The project described in this case study, from needs assessment through planning to implementation, evolved through organizational and institutional politics rather than through pressure group politics. The needs assessment was conducted without any strategic plan for using the findings other than reporting them to the state Governor's office and legislative bodies. The beneficiaries of the needs assessment for a comprehensive medical rehabilitation facility and program in West Virginia were, obviously enough, disabled persons. To better establish characteristics of the disabled population in West Virginia, the state agencies that provided services or benefits to disabled residents were tapped for information.
