Ninth District Opportunity, Inc Community Assessment 2013 Prepared for: Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. By: Training and Technical Assistance Services, Inc. May, 2013 A publication of Copyright © 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 3 COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 5 SERVICE AREA ................................................................................................................................. 6 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GENERAL POPULATION ................................................................ 28 DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION .......................................................................................................... 28 HOUSING ...................................................................................................................................... 35 TRANSPORTATION .......................................................................................................................... 43 TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ............................................................................. 46 POVERTY AND INCOME .................................................................................................................... 46 INCOME ....................................................................................................................................... 50 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HEAD START AND CSBG POPULATION SERVED ............................. 60 Poverty Information .............................................................................................................. 60 EDUCATION ................................................................................................................................... 65 ADULT LITERACY ............................................................................................................................ 67 THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS (NCES) PRODUCES ESTIMATES FOR ADULT LITERACY BASED ON EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, POVERTY AND OTHER FACTORS IN EACH COUNTY. ESTIMATED LITERACY RATES FOR THE 20 COUNTY REPORT AREA RANGED FROM 8 IN FORSYTH TO 25 IN HALL. ............................................. 67 SOURCE HTTP://NCES.ED.GOV/NAAL/ESTIMATES/STATEESTIMATES.ASPX DOWNLOADED JUNE 14, 2013 ...... 68 RACIAL AND ETHNIC INFORMATION .................................................................................................... 68 NUTRITION ................................................................................................................................... 69 NUTRITION: EARLY HEAD START ................................................................................................... 71 DENTAL HEALTH ............................................................................................................................ 77 MENTAL HEALTH ........................................................................................................................... 78 SERVICES AVAILABLE IN THE NINTH DISTRICT OPPORTUNITY HEAD START AREA .................. 81 CHILD CARE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS AVAILABLE IN THE NINTH DISTRICT OPPORTUNITY HEAD START AREA .. 81 SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES ......................................................................................... 85 COMMUNITY STRENGTHS AND NEEDS AS REPORTED BY MEMBERS OF THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITY ......................................................................................................................... 87 COMMUNITY STRENGTHS ................................................................................................................. 87 COMMUNITY/FAMILY CHANGE ......................................................................................................... 90 FAMILY AND COMMUNITY NEEDS AS IDENTIFIED BY THE COMMUNITY ...................................................... 96 NEEDS GOALS AND CONCLUSIONS....................................................................................... 101 IDENTIFIED NEEDS AND STRATEGIES ................................................................................................. 101 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 105 Community Assessment Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. May 2013 Page 1 Table 1: Population ............................................................................................... 28 Table 2: Age ........................................................................................................ 29 Table 3: Race Alone or in Combination ................................................................... 30 Table 4: Hispanic Population Growth ...................................................................... 31 Table 5: Households in Poverty by Family Type 2007- 2011 ..................................... 33 Table 6: Household Types in Poverty ...................................................................... 34 Table 7: Home Ownership ..................................................................................... 35 Table 8: Housing Characteristics ............................................................................ 36 Table 9: Gross Rent .............................................................................................. 37 Table 10: Fair Market Values for Rental Property ..................................................... 38 Table 11: Housing Affordability .............................................................................. 39 Table 12: Unsafe/Unsanitary Homes ....................................................................... 40 Table 13: Foreclosures .......................................................................................... 41 Table 14: Results for Point-In-Time Homeless Count 2009 ....................................... 43 Table 15: Transportation/Commuting to Work ......................................................... 44 Table 16: Vehicles Available ................................................................................... 45 Table 17: Poverty ................................................................................................. 47 Table 18: Household Poverty Rate by Family Type 2007-2011 .................................. 48 Table 19: Children under Age 4 in Poverty .............................................................. 50 Table 20: Types of Jobs Held By NDO Clients/Head Start Parents ............................. 57 Table 21: NDO CSBG Client's Source of Income ....................................................... 59 Table 22: Children in Poverty ................................................................................. 61 Table 23: Rate of Change in Poverty ...................................................................... 62 Table 24: Estimated Number of Head Start Eligible Children ..................................... 64 Table 25: Education Levels: All Population .............................................................. 65 Table 26: Education Level of Adults Participating NDO CSBG Programs ..................... 67 Table 27: Literacy Rates (adults over 24) ................................................................ 67 Table 28: NDO Head Start/ EHS Participants/Clients by Race .................................... 68 Table 29: Free/Reduced Lunch Participation ............................................................ 72 Table 30: SNAP participation on the NDO Service area ............................................. 73 Table 31: Health Care providers ............................................................................. 74 Table 32: Hospitals and Physician Counts ............................................................... 75 Table 33: Health Insurance ................................................................................... 79 Table 34: 2011 Georgia Market Rate Survey: Full-time Weekday Care 75th Percentile Rates ................................................................................................................... 84 Table 35: NDO Head Start Children with Disabilities ................................................. 86 Community Assessment Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. May 2013 Page 2 1 Introduction Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. (NDO) is a private, non-profit corporation founded in 1967 to carry out the mandate of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Ninth District’s primary purpose is to work in partnership with low-income people to promote access to opportunities leading toward self-development, self-reliance and self-determination. Ninth District operates a wide variety of social programs in 13 Northeast Georgia counties with a total service area of 20 counties. Ninth District’s Central Administrative Office is located in Gainesville, and the majority of the 600+ staff members are assigned to local service delivery sites in each county. Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. is not a governmental agency. Ninth District is a private, non-profit corporation whose board consists of local elected officials and other community members. The agency works in collaboration with education, private industry, community institutions and other service agencies across the state to provide a comprehensive network of opportunities to improve the quality of life