A Community Needs Assessment
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A Community Needs Assessment August 2010 Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc. 1243 North 10th Street, Suite 200, Milwaukee, WI 53205 414 224-0404 fax 414-224-0243 www.planningcouncil.org Community Needs Assessment – Racine County August 2010 Page 1 Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc. Community Needs Assessment – Racine County August 2010 Acknowledgements The Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc., wishes to acknowledge Sharon Schulz, Chief Executive Officer of the Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency; Essie Allen, Associate Director; and Cheryl Montgomery, Planning Director for providing guidance and making this effort possible. Eleven people from nine agencies agreed to in-person interviews; they answered questions about the needs of people in poverty in the community, barriers to addressing those needs, services available, and what else can be done to serve people in poverty. Appreciation is extended to those who shared their input: Fabiola Diaz, UW Extension Racine County; Mark Gesner, UW Parkside, Center for Community Partnerships; Geoffrey Greiveldinger, Office of the Racine County Executive; Patricia Hoffman and Connie Zinnen, Burlington Area Schools; Carole Johnson, The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread; Debra Jossart, Racine County Human Services Department; Karla Krehbiel, Johnson Bank; Attorney Gai Lorenzen, Legal Action of WI, Inc.; and David Maurer and Susan Gould, United Way of Racine County. A total of 28 people participated in focus groups. Thanks to everyone who shared information about the needs of people in poverty, as well as input about the needs that are well met and resources that could be expanded or are missing. Thanks also to Lisa Cervantes at Head Start for organizing and providing space for the two Head Start focus groups, and thanks to Larry Stigney at the Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency for providing space for the service provider focus group. The following people were also extremely helpful in gathering information: Leighton Cooper, Larry Stigney, Yadira Casares, Marilyn Bolton, and Alexis Bourgeois. Finally, appreciation is extended to those in the community who work to help those in poverty. The following Planning Council staff members contributed to this effort: Kathleen Pritchard, President and CEO; Julie Whelan Capell, Director of Planning and Development; Quinton D. Cotton, Associate Planner; Lonna Kruse, Assistant Planner; Susan Tragesser, Data and Information Specialist; Ashley Tikkanen, Marquette Trinity Fellow; Kyle Rabe, UW-Milwaukee Student Intern; and Chelsea Boyd, UW-Milwaukee Student Intern. The Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc. is a non-profit organization serving Southeastern Wisconsin. Its mission is to advance community health and human services through objective planning, evaluation, and research. Page 2 Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc. Community Needs Assessment – Racine County August 2010 Table of Contents Background & Methodology..........................................................................................................4 Community Profile - Racine County..............................................................................................5 Geography, Land Use & the Environment.................................................................................5 Demographics .........................................................................................................................15 Economy & Employment .........................................................................................................22 Transportation .........................................................................................................................32 Housing ...................................................................................................................................36 Food Security ..........................................................................................................................41 Early Education & Children Under 5........................................................................................45 School-Aged Youth & Education .............................................................................................48 Elderly and Adults with Disabilities..........................................................................................56 Public Health ...........................................................................................................................58 Key Informant Interviews - Racine County..................................................................................67 Purpose ...................................................................................................................................67 Methodology............................................................................................................................67 Limitations ...............................................................................................................................68 Key Informant Interview Themes.............................................................................................68 Focus Groups-Racine County.....................................................................................................82 Purpose ...................................................................................................................................82 Methodology............................................................................................................................82 Limitations ...............................................................................................................................83 Focus Group Participants........................................................................................................83 Focus Group Summary ...........................................................................................................84 References..................................................................................................................................97 Tables-Racine County ..............................................................................................................100 Appendices ...............................................................................................................................136 Appendix A: List of Key Informants .......................................................................................136 Appendix B: Key Informant Interview Questions ...................................................................138 Appendix C: Focus Group Questions....................................................................................139 Appendix D: Focus Group Survey.........................................................................................140 Appendix E: List of Resources for Racine County Residents ...............................................141 Page 3 Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc. Community Needs Assessment – Racine County August 2010 Background & Methodology The Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency enables low-income individuals to attain the skills, knowledge and motivation needed to achieve self-sufficiency. To ensure that programming effectively targets issues critical to the low-income population, the agency conducts periodic community needs assessments. In spring 2010, the Planning Council for Health and Human Services undertook a range of community assessment activities in order to produce this overview of Racine County, Wisconsin for the Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency. The Planning Council examined secondary data sources such as the U.S. Census, school records, and State of Wisconsin data, along with data compiled by the Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency, to produce this report. In addition, key informant interviews and focus groups were held throughout April and May of 2010 to provide insights beyond the statistics. In order to provide the Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency with the most up-to-date information possible, many of the population-based statistics in this report were taken from the U.S. Census 2006- 2008 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates. The American Community Survey is a large, continuous demographic survey conducted by the Census Bureau on an ongoing basis. Questionnaires are mailed to a sample of addresses to obtain information about households -- that is, about each person and the housing unit itself. The survey produces annual and multi-year estimates of population and housing characteristics as well as data for small areas, including tracts and population subgroups. Eventually, this survey will provide accurate and up-to-date profiles of America's communities every year, instead of every ten years. However, caution must be exercised when using current American Community Survey data. Because they are based on a sample, these data are subject to sampling variability and should be considered estimates only since there can be fairly large margins of error for many of these numbers. Detailed tables that accompany many of the charts are included at the end of the report. Page 4 Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc. Community Needs Assessment – Racine County August 2010 Community Profile - Racine County Geography, Land Use & the Environment Environmental Scan • Racine County is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan