Click HERE to review our new Community Assessment

United Way of Dutchess County recently undertook the most comprehensive community assessment in our history. Data from over one hundred sources
and the opinions of about 10,000 residents were examined. For the first time, we collected opinion data from our own constituency including those who fund, deliver and use human services. The results from this work and other efforts to prioritize concerns were looked at together to yield an overall ranking of issues. Our findings show that Dutchess County is doing well; most health and human service indicators are pointing in the right direction.

Meeting basic needs is the most pressing issue for residents. This is the number one reason people call 2-1-1 for help and appears as a top concern on multiple assessments of priority concerns. For residents of Dutchess County there exists a solid system to meet basic needs, particularly for the 18,000 people in the county in poverty and those impacted by a disaster.

The second highest priority for Dutchess County is reaching financial stability. Between 11,000 and 16,000 households fall into the gap whereby they are not eligible for welfare but lack the income to cover housing, healthcare and other basic needs. Housing that working families can afford ranks as the second highest priority on United Way of Dutchess County opinion surveys and access to healthcare ranks third. Affordable housing is the most frequent response when people were asked an open-ended question about the most pressing issue in our community.

Helping children succeed is the third most pressing issue in this community. There are 5,000 children in poverty and roughly 8,000 that may need help meeting developmental milestones in preparation for kindergarten. About 1,000 children are served in the Early Intervention Program. This issue ranked behind basic needs, and issues related to financial stability such as housing and healthcare in all surveys and at times ranked after programs for youth however, the evidence is in: investing in early childhood programs produces the highest return compared to investments at other ages.

This assessment shows United Way of Dutchess County should focus efforts on creating efficiencies within an already strong safety net while working to help people achieve financial independence and to help children start out on the right foot. This is what the community has asked us to do.

Promoting Financial
Stability