Community Action Agency Comprehensive Needs Assessment
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MIAMI-DADE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FFFIIIIUUU MMMeeetttrrrooopppooolllliiiitttaaannn CCCeeennnttteeerrr SSStttuuudddyyy TTTeeeaaammm:::: Maria Ilcheva, Ph.D., Principal Investigator Amanda Gorski, M.A. Project Manager Victoria Lerma, M.A., Research Associate Alejandro Martinez, Research Assistant Stephanie Smith, M.A., Research Assistant AAAccckkknnnooowwwlllleeedddgggeeemmmeeennntttsss The Metropolitan Center at Florida International University would like to thank the Community Action Agency, its staff and Dr. William Atkins, CAA Deputy Director, for their assistance in producing this report. The staff at the following CAA sites assisted in the survey data collection. Edison/Liberty City Greater Miami Service Corps 810 NW 28 th St. 200 NW 55 th St. Neighborhood Services Center Perrine Community 17801 Homestead OpaOpa----LockaLocka Neighborhood Enrichment Center (Also Head 16405 NW 25 th Ave Ave Service Center Start) Little Havana/Havana/LittleLittle 858 West Flagler 17901 Homestead Havana/Accion Community Perrine Elderly Service C Centerenter St. Ave Enrichment Center Liberty City Community 6100 NW 7 th Ave Hialeah Elderly Service Center 300 East 1 Ave Enrichment Center Colonel Zubkoff Enrichment Edison Neighborhood Center 150 NW 79 th St. 55 NW 199 th St. Center (Also Elderly) Bethune Enrichment Center Culmer NeighbNeighborhoodorhood Center 1600 NW 3 rd Ave 2900 NW 43 rd Terr. (Also Elderly) Isaac A. Withers Community 21300 SW 122 nd Enrichment Center (Also Carrie Meek Head Start Center 1900 NW 71 st St. Ave Elderly and Head Start) Florida City/Homestead 1600 NW 6 th Court South Miami Head Start Center 6125 SW 68 th St. Elderly Services Jack Orr Elderly Housing Holy Redeemer Head Start 550 NW 5 th St. 1325 NW 71 st St. Facility Center Harry Cain Elderly Housing Allapattah CommuCommunitynity Service 2257 NW N. River 490 NE 2 nd Avenue Facility Center Drive * 3 surveys were obtained by FIU Metropolitan Center staff during a meeting of the CAA Advisory Committee for the Wynwood Area. i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: KEY FINDINGS The Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment of Miami-Dade County conducted for the Miami- Dade County’s Community Action Agency (CAA) is intended to serve as a benchmark by providing a number of indicators which assess socioeconomic conditions in Miami-Dade County. The analysis demonstrates that the county is experiencing demographic and economic shifts which necessitate a closer look at the characteristics of the communities by government agencies, policy makers and community organizations. The report traces past and present condition of the county’s population across several indicators which include demographic characteristics and trends, education, economic development, including employment, income and housing, criminal justice, and public health. The secondary data is supplemented by primary data obtained from a survey with adult low- income Miami-Dade County residents conducted by the FIU Metropolitan Center, and referred to as the CAA Low-Income Resident Survey from hereon. The survey results help determine the attitudes and perceptions of a particular segment of county residents towards a variety of issues and in conjunction with the secondary data is intended to improve awareness of population needs and assist CAA in reviewing and improving its programs. The key findings from the different chapters comprising this report are presented below. DEMOGRAPHICS Miami-Dade County is undergoing demographic shifts which will have a profound effect on a variety of factors which influence the area’s economic vitality. While the population growth of the county continues, it has slowed down compared to the 1990s. From 2000 to 2007, Miami-Dade County’s population increased by 5.9%. Positive birth rates and international migration continue to sustain growth but residents are moving out of the county in increasing numbers. Population growth is uneven throughout the county’s areas. The City of Homestead was the fastest growing municipality in Miami-Dade between 2000 and 2007, increasing by 77 percent, followed by Florida City with a 22 percent population increase. Meanwhile, the population in some central and eastern municipalities declined, including Biscayne Park (9%), Miami Springs (8%), Surfside (8%), Miami Shores and Virginia Gardens (7%). These population shifts are the result of Miami-Dade residents moving out of areas that have become unaffordable, and relocating either out of the county or in the western and southern portions. Migration is gradually changing the ethnic and racial makeup of the county, as well as the age structure of its population. As the number of White, non-Hispanic, residents declines, Black and Hispanic residents increase as a proportion of the total population. In both 2000 and 2007 the majority of residents identified themselves as Hispanic (57.3% and 62.0% respectively). In terms of age, the steep 16 percent decline of residents in the 25-34 years age group accompanied by a 24 percent increase in the 55-64 age group is a reflection of a process of gentrification as a result of the inability of Miami-Dade County to retain and attract the younger age groups. As a result of that migration, the percentage of children under 18 is estimated to have declined by approximately two percent from 2000 to 2007. The overall decrease of residents in the 18-34 age group (-4%) is important to note as a trend that may lead to a further decline in the number of children. CAA has designated sixteen target areas where the agency administers a variety of programs targeting low-income residents. The 466,076 residents in the sixteen areas below represent almost 21 percent of the county’s population. Approximately 15 percent of total families in the county had income below the poverty line, while in the CAA Target Areas 28,499 families or 27 percent were below the poverty line in 2000. This concentration of low-income families representing 36 percent of total families in the county living below the poverty line shows that the target areas are useful as a clustering tool that helps direct resources towards areas and families with highest need. Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment ii Miami-Dade County, 2008 EDUCATION The level of educational attainment of Miami-Dade County residents is an important factor that affects their ability to pursue successful careers in well-paying positions. The increasing number of residents with college and university degrees is an encouraging trend which needs to continue if Miami-Dade’s workforce is to be competitive in the South Florida market. In fact, the number of high school graduates increased by 23.8 percent while the number of residents without a high school degree decreased by 25.5 percent in the 2000-2007 period. The number of residents above the age of twenty-five with a bachelor’s degree increased by 36.7 percent. Although this positive trend is visible across all major ethnic and racial groups in the county, Black residents continue to have the lowest educational attainment. An estimated 22 percent of Black residents had Associate’s degree or above in 2007, compared to more than half of White Non-Hispanics and a third of Hispanics. The lag in postsecondary education among Black residents is related to the lower high school graduation rates of Black students. While graduation rates among White (+3.2%) and Hispanic students (+1.3%) increased and the dropout rates of these groups decreased from 2000 to 2007, Black students continue to lag behind as the graduation rate among them increased by 0.6 percent but dropouts also increased by the same percentage. The disparity among ethnic and racial groups is further evidenced in the focus on struggling schools which are predominantly located in areas with large Black populations. High schools in predominantly Black neighborhoods have the lowest percentage of graduates who move on to obtain postsecondary education. While education was rarely mentioned as an issue that affects their quality of life, a significant number of respondents (28%) in the CAA Low-Income Resident Survey acknowledge that a lack of job skills has prevented them from obtaining a better paying job. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT The financial stability and prosperity of Miami-Dade residents is an important characteristic which affects their ability to provide for their families and have a quality of life commensurate with their aspirations. Despite the fact that Miami-Dade has had a continuous and vigorous economic growth since 2000, there are still great pockets of poverty and an increase in income disparity making the cost of living unaffordable or a burden for low- and moderate-income earning households. EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME Miami-Dade County’s economic base is principally comprised of service-providing industries, including Retail Trade, Health Care and Social Assistance and Accommodation and Food Services. In total, service-providing industries account for 91 percent of all jobs in Miami-Dade County. While service-providing industries are essential to Miami-Dade’s economy and do offer living wages among many of the associated occupations, the vast preponderance of employment is found in low-wage earning occupations. In fact, Miami-Dade County’s 2007 median annual wage for all occupations was only $26,873. Analysis conducted by the FIU Metropolitan Center using data from the 2007 American Community Survey shows that 30.4 percent of the county’s owner-occupied housing units earn 80 percent or less than the area median income (AMI). For renter-occupied units, 63 percent of households earn less than 80 percent of the AMI. Many of the more populated municipalities in Miami-Dade County have median household incomes less than the AMI, including the cities of Miami ($29,226), Homestead ($33,323), Miami Beach ($34,004), Hialeah ($35,511), and Opa-Locka ($24,432). A more thorough analysis of the CAA Target Areas in relation to the 2007 Miami-Dade AMI shows that fourteen (14) out of the sixteen (16) areas fall in the “Low/Moderate” income threshold with household incomes as low as $18,580 in Liberty City to $36,157 in South Beach.