Some Findings by United Way Teams About Gaps and Emerging Needs

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Note: The items described on this page do not include many important ongoing areas that also need funding. This report is best viewed as a partial list, not an all-inclusive list, of priority funding needs in our region.

Some Findings by United Way Teams
About Gaps and Emerging Needs

In the Rochester/Monroe County Area, March 20, 2001

The following pages contain information that was presented or was part of a hand-out package at the United Way Stake Holder’s Briefing for its Strategic Plan for Community Impact – 2003-2006. The Briefing was held on March 13, 2001.

The following materials are focused on gaps and emerging needs for five Impact Areas:

	Success by 6
	Kids on Track
	Strengthening Families
	Helping Seniors
	Overcoming Disabilities

The gaps and needs are focused on the 2003-2006 timeframe and were identified by members of United Way Investment Teams through a variety of research methods including focus groups, surveys, “expert” presentations and review of research of other major organizations.

The gaps and needs identified here do not necessarily represent future investment decisions by the United Way. These findings will be considered in development of an overall strategic plan for 2003-3006 about which a report will be issued in November 2001.

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Gaps and Emerging Needs
United Way Stakeholders Briefing
March 13, 2001

Looking Across Impact Areas

GAPS & EMERGING NEEDS	SB6	KOT	SF	HS	OD
PHYSICAL HEALTH (healthy births, health care coverage, prevention)
MENTAL HEALTH (youth, children)
APPROPRIATE HOUSING (safe, decent, affordable)
SAFE & SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS (parent & child, elder abuse)
FINANCIAL WELL-BEING (financial mgt., employment)
INDEPENDENT LIVING (home support)
TRANSPORTATION (employment, socialization)
PREPARATION FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS (literacy, child care, graduation)
BASIC NEEDS (food, shelter)
PROVIDERS: SERVICE DELIVERY / ACCESS
PROVIDERS: INFRASTRUCTURE

_____________________________

Strategic Planning Input
Identified Needs and Emerging Trends
Success by 6 Investment Team

Under Investigation	Need
	Respite services.
	Promoting Literacy: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing.
	Advocacy for increase in those guaranteed subsidy and those eligible for subsidy.
	Dental care for young children.
	Sustaining quality improvement in childcare settings.
	Day care with flexible hours.
	Affordable day care.
	Transportation to and from programming.
	Increased staff development and training.
	Skilled, knowledgeable parents.
	Services for children exposed to violence.
	Support and advocacy for UPK.
	Services for children with significant behavior needs.
	Wellness enhancing and preventative services.
	Interpretive services for non-English speaking parents.
	Support for children in foster care.
	Support for part-time programs for infants, toddlers and 3 yr. olds.
	Support for children with mild to moderate communication problems.
	Healthy Births.
	Home based nutritional counseling.
	Development of instruments to determine specific problems underlying literacy delay in young children.

Sources: The Success by 6 Volunteer Team constructed this list with input from surveys sent to the Executive Director of each of the agencies that run United Way funded programs, Monroe County Departments of Health and Social Services, Early Childhood Development Initiative, Center for Governmental Research, and individual provider input.

Success by 6 -- Gaps and Emerging Needs
Talking Points at United Way Briefing – March 13, 2001

Goal: Healthy, young children (0-9) prepared to succeed socially and academically

Preparation for Success in School

Promoting literacy: Speaking, listening, reading and writing.

	There needs to be a greater emphasis on caregiver and parental competence and family skill.
	Awareness of what is developmentally appropriate (materials, bhaviors etc.) for children of different ages.)
	Permeation of literacy programming as a component throughout the current Success by 6 portfolio.

Sustaining quality improvement in child care settings.

	Even though significant steps have been made in our community, obtaining and sustaining credentials in childcare settings continues to be an issue within our community.
	United Way seeks to promote and support healthy systems of childcare.

Physical Health

Healthy Births.

	Promotion of accurate information regarding knowing when, where, and how to seek medical care for their children and themselves.
	Understanding of the benefits for seeking medical care early.

Mental Health

Services for children with significant behavior needs.

	Services for children that have never classified as well as those that have been classified for other significant issues.
	Mental health services for young children.
	Staff development efforts geared toward supporting teaching better practices when it comes to assisting, teaching, managing, educating, and caring for those children with significant behavior needs.

	Knowledge about what are appropriate reactions to a child’s behaviors.
	Knowing when they need to seek help and how to ask for what they need.
	Fundamental knowledge regarding the developmental stages of children.

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Strategic Planning Input
Identified Needs and Emerging Trends
Kids on Track Investment Team

Under Investigation	Needs
	Substance abuse treatment.
	Computer skills training.
	After school structured programming. (mentoring, tutoring, job training, recreation.)
	Transportation to and from programming.
	Flexible (evenings and weekends) childcare.
	Housing for teens (with or without children) no longer able to live at home.
	Respite and emergency childcare.
	Services for children with multiple diagnosis.
	Family conflict intervention services.
	Information about availability of existing services.
	Sex offender groups.
	Home stabilizing services.
	Diversion services.
	Emergency services for impoverished families.
	Intervention with Hispanic students encountering difficulties in schools.
	Mental Health Services.
	Interpreting services for non-English speakers.
	Consistent standards for special education programs.
	Role modeling programs. (aggressive recruitment of certain populations ie: African-American males.)
	Short term counseling for families.
	Early detection and intervention for children with learning disabilities.
	Attention paid to the link between family instability and the impact on quality of life for students.
	Services to youth exposed to violence.
	Literacy services for students with disabilities.
	Youth empowerment and leadership development opportunities.
	Access to schools where there is a more natural access to special services.
	Increase in capacity of preventative programs.
	Future planning for adolescents with developmental disabilities and their families.
	Better integration of services to the same family
	Family support services for families of incarcerated youth.
	Additional family conflict intervention services.
	Intensive home therapy.
	Parent support group activities and structured recreation for families.
	Grief and loss strategy counseling.
	Social and emotional support services and training for those moving off of welfare and into work.

Trends:

	Welfare to work
	Lowering of PINS age from 18 to16 years old.
	Continued high rate of poverty for children.
	Regents standards.

Sources: The Kids on Track Volunteer Team constructed list with input from surveys sent to the Executive Director of each of the agencies that run United Way funded programs, Department of Social Services, Youth Bureau, and individual provider input.

Kids on Track – Emerging Needs and Gaps
Talking Points – March 13, 2001

Goal: Healthy, Self Confident Youth (10-21) Succeeding Socially and Academically.

Mental Health

The umbrella of additional mental health services for youth can be characterized by some of the following specifics:

	Greater access to mental health services for youth. In general, it doesn’t there are enough mental health services available to youth.
	Services for youth with dual diagnosis. There is a need for service provision for youth that have been diagnosed with two presenting issues. ie: substance abuse and bi-polar disorder. To treat one disorder successfully, the other most be considered and treated as well. Seemingly an increasing number of young people are presenting with these complicated dual diagnosis.
	Services for younger children. Providers are telling us that they are seeing increasingly younger children presenting with greater mental health issues.
	Services for children exposed to violence. Exposure to violence effects children profoundly. We are hearing from providers that not only does exposure to violence have an immediate effect on youth at the time of the incident in very obvious ways, but they are seeing more cases of longer lasting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result.

Safe and Supportive Environments

There were multiple categories identified by providers that the Kids on Track team felt fit under this broad heading. Each of these categories are unique and target a specific population, but they all speak to the need for there to be an increased number of opportunities for individuals to learn and play in safe and supportive environments.

	Structured activities for parents and their children.
	Providers felt that one way in which youth could be additionally supported would be to offer their parents and caregivers opportunities to interact with them in positive environments. We heard that our community would benefit from:
	Socially and emotionally supportive programming for parents and their children.
	Opportunities for parents to learn how to interact with their children in positive and productive ways.

Assistance for parents seeking healthy options during which to spend quality time with their children.

Structured activities and programming for youth

The United Way has been a long time supporter of youth development opportunities and after school programming. However, the community has continued to report to the Kids on Track team that more development in this area is needed. It was recommended that the United Way continue to explore and affirm its commitment to a variety of types of programs that fall under this category of “structured activities and programming for youth.”

These activities take advantage of time youth aren’t in school but are geared to keep them going and staying engaged. These programs offer youth healthy choices with which to use their free time as well as opportunities to develop their potential in any number of realms.

We heard that there is a need for:

	Additional after school opportunities for structured mentoring and tutoring programs, as well as more clubs, opportunities for recreation, and job training.
	An increased number of healthy, productive options for children to spend their free time.
	Increased youth empowerment and leadership development opportunities.

Flexible childcare

Appropriate, safe childcare is needed for children in the evenings and weekends due to the increasingly non-traditional working hours of primary caregivers. Without flexible childcare options, caregivers are being forced to leave their young children alone or in less than desirable circumstances.

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Strategic Planning Input
Identified Needs and Emerging Trends
Strengthening Families Investment Team

Under Investigation