Community Needs Assessment
In 2003, a community needs assessment was undertaken as a joint venture between United Way, Otter Tail County Public Health, Otter Tail County Social Services and Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action.

The purpose of the needs assessment was to poll the community to find out what the people in the county perceive see as the most pressing issues. A web-page was developed so that people could voice their opinion via the web. Focus groups held county-wide provided a voice for many community leaders. A random phone survey was conducted to also gauge community perception.

The results showed the following information:

Community Concerns:
A majority of respondents said crime and law enforcement and the overall needs of the elderly were high priorities. 74.3% rated abuse or domestic violence of children and adults as a high priority. 55.4% rated the overall needs of the elderly as a high priority.
Housing Issues:
62.5% of respondents said shelter for victims of neglect, abuse or domestic violence was a high priority in our county.
Healthcare Issues:
Over 86% of respondents said meth or other illegal drug use was a high priority as well as 58.1% saying the availability of health services and alcohol abuse was a high priority.
Educational Issues:
55.9 % of respondents said threat of violence at school was a high priority. Over one in two respondents rated literacy and reading programs, and parent-teacher communication as high priorities.
Childcare Issues:
Approximately one in two respondents said childcare for children with special needs as well as adequate, safe childcare facilities were high priorities.
Other Program Services:
The availability of jobs that match job skills was a high priority for the majority of the respondents.
What are we going to do with the information?
Although we had many partners in this process, we are concerned with how these answers affect United Way and the programs that we fund.

When the problems of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs (as well as alcohol abuse) rose to the top of the list of concerns, we developed a meth task force comprised of education, law enforcement, public health, social services, domestic violence, healthcare and judicial system individuals. Together, we are bringing the county together on a plan to work together on an effort to combat these problems in Otter Tail County.

We have conducted three focus groups of professionals dealing with the meth issues firsthand. The summary we received from these talks have led us into a strategic plan which we plan to follow. The focus this Meth Task Force would like to involve would be a community-wide prevention program.

The high response for needs of the literacy and reading skills showed us that people felt early childhood literacy is a priority in our community. The United Way Board of Directors has approved starting an Imagination Library program for Otter Tail County.

The high percentage of people concerned with the domestic violence issue has led United Way to continue a strong connection with Someplace Safe and their protective services. 

The other high priorities will be looked at with program allocations and other issues will be tackled as the needs arise. At United Way we are committed to getting to the root of community problems and then bringing the community members together to make a difference.

Feedback
Your opinion matters to us! Tell us what you think of these survey results.