Roane County United Way’s 2012-3 Needs Assessment

Results and Recommendations to the Board of Directors

 Working with U.T.’s Social Work Office of Research and Public Service (SWORPS), the Roane County United Way (RCUW) needs assessment process focused on the building blocks for a good life: Education; Financial Stability; and Health.  The process used is described below:

  • Review existing pertinent data (census, county health rankings, etc.)
  • Deploy a household survey (was available online and as a hardcopy with over 800 responses analyzed)
  • Conduct three focus groups per Education, Financial Stability, and Health topic
  • Conduct fourth focus group to look beyond their expertise, recognize overlaps between topics, and determine final prioritization of needs

The top six needs identified, (includes a tie for the 5th), are described below. RCUW will work collaboratively with service providers and other community resources to fulfill the need(s) of Roane Countians.

 
Category Rank Service Need/Gap Recommendation(s)
General  1 Transportation for general purposes for those 65 and older or disabled RCUW leads a community-wide effort to identify a sustainable solution.
General  2 Work collectively, cohesively to deliver services resulting in the greatest positive impact
  • RCUW continues working towards helping people find/receive services which result in a positive impact. Integrate lessons learned to improve the process and use model for other types of social service(s).
  • Deploy the Volunteer Clearinghouse as another communication method of services available in R.C.
Health 3 Educate how to identify when there is substance abuse and service options
  • RCUW funds R.C. Anti-Drug Coalition’s new program, Coping and Support Training (CAST).
  • Brainstorm solutions on how best to educate the medical community and the residents on identification of substance abuse and service options.
Financial
Stability
 4 Use of available services and budgeting skills by low-income families RCUW partner and/or assist U.T.’s Extension Service delivery of program/services addressing this service gap.
Education  5A Provide in –home programs for youth that provide mentoring, reading and other services for students as well as parenting education Continue with the RCUW Education Involvement Initiative which partially addresses this gap.Defer addressing this need until the first quarter of 2014. At that time the need should be reassessed because it is believed that other RCUW initiatives will partially address this gap
Education  5B Education and training programs to equip unemployed with skills for available jobs. Defer addressing this need until the first quarter of 2014. At that time the need should be reassessed because it is believed that other RCUW initiatives will partially address this gap.

The report describing the process in detail may be found here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4