Final answer:
Traditional methods of community work focus on communities' problems, whereas an asset-based approach leverages community strengths and resources. Community partnerships and programs can benefit from this approach by engaging members and supporting their active participation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Traditional methods of community work tend to focus on a community's deficits; that is, their problems and challenges. In the context of community psychology and development, this approach might overlook the inherent strengths and assets that individuals and communities possess. Instead of solely concentrating on what is lacking, an asset-based approach recognizes and harnesses existing community strengths, resources, and capacities to address challenges. Through a case study in community psychology practice, it is shown that community partners can meet needs by capitalizing on the existing strengths and resources of different partners. A strength such as the ongoing commitment to building community and social support among program staff and clients can play a crucial role. Moreover, programs that adopt an asset-based approach engage communities more effectively by encouraging positive roles, values, and practices. A curriculum designed to emphasize a strengths-based model aligns with psychological empowerment theory and suggests that community members are not passive recipients but active participants in the solutions to their problems. Dr. Somerville's unfinished evaluation of the Healthy Start curriculum could be an example of the limitations of a deficit-based approach due to not being able to fully assess through the client experience. However, alternative uses of the curriculum might still exist, such as in training and capacity building within the community that highlight assets and encourage community agency.