Summit One Data Summary
March 6, 2007
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Summit One Data Summary March 6, 2007 |
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The data for each of the 8 categories is summarized along with the leading responses in the three areas of each category.
Education
Numerous participants noted the levels of readiness for First Grade in terms of literacy and other measures such as PALS as a real strength in our community. Strengths also include the commitment to community education and opportunities for education such as Governor’s school, private and home schooling options. However, challenges we face include the need to balance the SOLs with more emphasis on physical education and the arts, and the need to emphasize high quality childcare and pre-K options for low income and Spanish speaking youngsters. Some also noted that measuring educational readiness needs to happen in more than just kindergartners. Transportation and child care were two other challenges mentioned. Opportunities were seen through city and country collaboration on the problems noted.
Assets
7 Strength of kindergarten students in terms of literacy
7 Committed to community education
2 Home School and Private School Options
Challenges
5 Balancing SOL/NCLB preparation with arts, physical activity, and other programs
4 Target low income and Spanish speaking population for high quality child-care and pre-k
3 Need to measure preschool readiness in all age brackets
Opportunities
4 City/County collaboration on workable strategies for student success
3 More 4-year-old pre-k programs
2 Create effective regional public transportation system so adults and preschoolers can access services
2 Data on percentage of children entering kindergarten attending preschool; also correlated with drop-out rates
2 More 'outside' time and physical education
2 Coordinate public and private education
2 Increase post-secondary education to build and sustain economically-sound families
Health
Assets noted in health clustered around the community’s improved health care awareness and prevention. More opportunities for screenings and preventative measures are available and the data shows that people are using it. The Free Clinic is seen as a major asset. Challenges our community faces in health are numerous. The most keenly felt are related to access and cost. Obesity, high blood pressure and teen pregnancy were the top three noted concerns for specific health problems in our population. The opportunities noted involve more focused surveys such as the one completed by the Healthy Community Council, promotion of healthy lifestyle choices and increasing health access while decreasing costs. Another opportunity highlighted was incorporating the Hispanic community more effectively through health education and improved access.
Assets
6 Increase (since 2001) in adults who engage in physical activity 3or more days/wk
6 Preventative care, education, and outreach is an important focus; community health is perceived as a priority of RMH
4 Seniors are taking advantage of preventive care
4 Low birth weight rates are better than the state average
4 90% of seniors had a preventive check up exceeding HP 2010 in some areas
4 Free Clinic available
Challenges
6 Rise in health care and health insurance costs
6 Childhood obesity rate 19% vs. 5% (HP 2010 goal); 36% of students in 4th/5th grade are overweight or at risk of overweight
5 Health care access- 13% of Spanish speakers mention difficulty accessing health care contrasted with the HP goal of 7%
Opportunities
6 Expand survey to address gaps: lower income, bilingual, foreign born, people w/disabilities
4 Impact of smoking and childhood obesity; need increased activity, including family & community programs
4 More required community service to engage families and children12 years and up regarding importance of healthy lifestyle choices
4 Group insurance among smaller organizations to reduce insurance rate/ premium
Mental Health
In the area of mental health people indicated that the growing awareness of mental health issues and needs in the community is a strength. People also noted the asset of church support for mental health issues in the community. The challenges faced in mental health highlight the need for still more services for mental health. A number of concerns surfaced regarding language barriers and the high stress within the Hispanic population. Opportunities seen in the area of mental health include working together with employers and educators for collaboration to increase and enhance available resources. Another opportunity is for the community to find ways to assist the Hispanic population in addressing their stress levels.
Assets
6 Mental health is on the survey- acknowledgment that people do need services
4 Number of persons accessing churches for support- further define what kinds of support does that include?
4 Desire for help increasing (substance abuse counseling)
Challenges
6 Not enough community resources (agencies, resources) to fill the need
4 Language barrier- not addressing other populations
3 Stress among the Hispanic pop- increase w/law enforcement and immigration issues change/evolve
3 Less support from family and friends - moving into isolation
Opportunities
5 More varied resources (may not take advantage of a particular service but may be open to another)
3 What opportunities do employers offer for their employees. Buy-in by employers increases productivity and retention.
2 Opportunities to reduce the stress in Hispanic community
2 CRC to business's liaison or some kind of communication ( Society for human resources management)
2 education in the schools- getting it out earlier. Multi-language- youth as a resource- peer diversity work group
Environment
Overwhelmingly the environment groups noted the asset of beauty to our area. Other positive points made focused on the people who are and who have a great potential to feel concerned about the environment. There are already a number of environmental improvement programs working in our community. Challenges we face as a community come from trying to maintain the positive environment we have through continued awareness and care. Also, alternative transportation options, such as bicycling are not widely or easily used in this community. A major opportunity in the environment category comes from leadership such as RMH-LEED as a model for other new construction. Other opportunities come from education and promoting environmentally friendly habits in the community.
Assets
10 Scenic beauty
3 Concerned citizen population (organized groups)
3 Recycling is available
Challenges
7 Preserving "green" infrastructure
4 Connectivity for alternative transportation
4 Taking high-quality environment for granted
Opportunities
8 Improvements in site design and buildings to protect natural resources (RMH-LEED certification as a model)
8 Enhance and communicate planned growth
3 Protect and maintain green infrastructure resources
2 Public education on pet waste, recycling-detailed info, water quality in general
2 Educate on relationship between environment and economy
Youth
Many assets were listed in the youth section. Some of the recurring themes include the opportunities youth have in our communities and the positive moves toward healthy behaviors evident in the youth surveys. People noted that our community collaborates to help create strong youth. Challenges we face with the youth are obesity, poverty, and teenage pregnancy. Opportunities for youth include expanding existing programs and starting earlier to teach children positive social behaviors.
Assets
11 Many and varied youth service organizations and coalitions in the area; collaboration on grant-writing; having an impact
5 More students successfully graduating from high school and pursuing post-secondary education
3 10 years worth of data on youth due to OCY's surveys
3 Strong school systems
Challenges
5 Increase in child obesity
4 Teen pregnancy is high
3 Number of children in homeless families, families living below poverty level increasing, especially in Hispanic population
3 Extreme poverty increase among youth
3 Middle school sexuality
Opportunities
8 Expanding existing resources (mental health, pregnancy support, after-school, summer programs)
7 Develop programs at elementary and middle school levels and underserved areas to increase access to positive social activities
2 Using local parenting classes to help parents know how to discuss sensitive issues with their children
2 Data shows that middle school is where most risky behaviors start -- data supports doing more programming with this group
2 Collaboration with School Boards over survey questions
2 Create program to improve self-esteem in middle-school girls and support groups for same population
Economy
Assets in the economy of this community include the higher educational facilities and employment growth. The strength and diversity of the economy were also noted as positive features. Challenges we face are the number of jobs that don’t provide a living wage and underemployment. We have opportunities to collaborate with all levels of the educational system and find ways to retain graduates and skilled labor to work in the area.
Assets
10 Local colleges, Blue Ridge CC, and Massanutten Vo-Tech.
6 Economy-diverse and strong.
4 Employment growth in services, education and retail.
Challenges
5 Self-sufficient-Wages lagging (vs. VA), declining pay rates (CPI Adjust)
5 Growing underemployment (tough to measure).
4 Lost jobs, e.g. Manufacturing, “Home Office” jobs (poultry), and local company buyouts.
Opportunities
4 Better utilize Vocational Education and post-secondary training (BRCC) to improve availability of skilled trade workforce.
4 Need retain highly educated, i.e., grads leave area. Idea: “Fargo” Model
4 Foster High tech job growth, e.g. SRI.Get local employers/local spin-offs to preserve agricultural heritage, e.g., “buy local” and/or organic choices.
Social Well-being
Assets in the area of social well-being include access and use of many available services. The infrastructure also provides space for the kind of services needed. An increase in internet access is seen as an asset as well. The major challenge identified was the need for transportation in specific subpopulations especially for seniors. Other challenges include services to those with physical and developmental disorders, foster care rates, and communication about available services. The opportunities seen in social well-being include creating accessible transportation and increasing access to services in the community through enhancing awareness and increasing collaboration.
Assets
16 Easy access to and strong non-governmental services (domestic violence, assist. after natural disaster)
7 Infrastructure to provide services is in place
7 Increase in home internet access especially for low income
Challenges
12 Transportation- more than 10% for all pop and 90% for seniors have need for transportation, transportation for all
7 Transportation, childcare, counseling, and legal services have difficulty meeting the need
4 Services to individual physical and developmental disorders are not able to be accessed-not readily available
4 Increased number of children in foster care, well above national average
4 Communication regarding availability and affordability of services
Opportunities
11 Transportation- Accessible transportation, public transportation, increased mass transit, increase ridership with timely routes
8 Counseling/Mediation- access
6 Spreading the word about CRC and other services-letting community (nonprofessionals) know it is there and how to access it in a timely manner
Infrastructure
The groups identified a major asset in our infrastructure to be communication and collaboration between service agencies and city government. Also, the community feels safe to most inhabitants and appreciates dedicated personnel and volunteers working towards improvements in housing and other services in the community. Challenges we face include the lack of affordable housing, increasing homelessness, and sexual assault in the community. The opportunities mentioned involve the community working together to find solutions to the housing and services to low-income people.
Assets
7 Communication and collaboration between service agencies as well as city government
4 Safe in community
4 Dedicated professionals in social services
Challenges
9 Affordable Housing (what is being done?) competition, students skewed the data, more specifics needed
6 Availability/Affordability of land to build on
2 lack of public awareness of the availability of affordable housing
2 Sexual Assault/Homelessness (more data needed to compare reasons behind data)
2 Increasing homelessness- identify primary causes of homelessness and ways to address them
2 Lack of accessible housing stock
2 Lack of transitional housing (1-2 years)
Opportunities
7 Pull together community groups to work on solutions
4 Increase affordable housing and universal design housing with the local area- (developers, subsidized housing, coordinated efforts of community groups
4 Mental health services to low-income, sexual assault/DV victims