2005-2008 Community Needs Assessment Executive Summary

The four areas of community priority identified in the Community Needs Assessment have been summarized below.

The Aging of the Population
In Chenango County seniors make up approximately 15% of the population, which is higher than the percentage of seniors nationally

(12.9%). And, the elder poverty rate in Chenango County is 8.2% for senior citizens aged 64-75 years and 9.4% for senior citizens

aged 75 years and older. While the aging of the population is a national trend, it is more pronounced in Chenango County as the

effect of the number of baby boomers approaching retirement age is intensified by the exodus of young people. Health care,

transportation, and housing services for the elderly will all be in greater demand in the near future.

Opportunities for Children and Youth
Chenango County has a child poverty rate of 20.4%. 13% of children under age 18 received food stamps in 2002, compared to 8.9%

in the rest of Upstate New York (all of New York State except New York City). 45% of students enrolled in K-6 in Chenango County

public schools received free or reduced-price school lunch in 2002 compared to 31.1% in the rest of Upstate. These are important

indicators when discussing child well-being and economic security.

Many of the adolescents in Chenango County are not developing to their fullest potential due to a lack of supportive and positive

opportunities within the community. Several statistics in the report suggest that teenagers do not see Chenango County as a place

of opportunity and, as a result, have relatively low aspirations - often resulting in a high suicide mortality rate (rate of 8.8 deaths

per 100,000 in Chenango County compared to 5.5 deaths per 100,000 in New York State), high rates of hospitalization for

self-inflicted injury (rate of 97.1 per 100,000 in Chenango County compared to 89.1 per 100,000 NYS rate), an increase in drug

use (arrests increased in Chenango County from a rate 48.9 per 10,000 youth in 1995 to 123 arrests in 2000), and an increase

in alcohol consumption (in Chenango County the youth DWI rate increased from 34.2 youth per 10,000 in 1995 to 65 per 10,000

youth in 2000).

The percentage of Chenango County high school graduates planning to attend college is roughly 10% lower than in neighboring

counties and the overall New York State percentage. Older youth often leave Chenango County to pursue four-year degrees and,

with corporate downsizings and lack of employment opportunities, many do not return. Our county's population of 20-35 year olds

makes up 16% of the total population compared to over 20% in New York State and nationally. Keeping Chenango County's young

people "at home" would shore up the tax base, increase community vitality, and improve the human capital resources of the

region.

Poverty Issues of Housing & Hunger
Low wages, seasonal unemployment, and the aging of the population are three main causes of poverty in Chenango County. In

Chenango County, the percentage of persons in poverty increased from 9.3% in 1990 to 14.4% in 2000. The issue of low wages

is a main variable for many of the one-third of Chenango County residents who live in or near poverty. In addition, these families

and those senior households living on fixed incomes need additional assistance in the areas of food security, transportation,

housing, and health care. Improving access to existing programs that support the poor- such as Food Stamps, community feeding

programs, emergency and transitional housing programs, HEAP, WIC, school lunch programs, and Medicaid- may help improve

the well-being of the most vulnerable families in Chenango County.

Access to Health Care
The primary access issues identified under the healthcare need area are: (1) lack of private health insurance, (2) a limited number

of providers who accept Medicaid, (3) limited access to dental care, and (4) insufficient mental health care.

Many of the overriding themes of the Community Needs Assessment support the prioritization of access to health care as one of the

most pressing challenges for Chenango County. The aging of the county population indicates that demand for health care will

continue to increase in the coming years, as will the percentages of the population on Medicare and Medicaid. Rural and small-

metropolitan hospital systems, including Chenango Memorial Hospital, will face growing demands from a graying population.

Furthermore, it will be a challenge to maintain adequate numbers of doctors and nurses in rural areas like Chenango County.

This demographic shift will also exacerbate transportation as a barrier to care as the elderly are more likely to need assistance

in accessing health care.

An additional note on Transportation…
Given that Chenango County is both a large geographic region and a largely rural community, access to adequate transportation

may be a critical factor affecting each of the community's needs. Therefore, the issue of transportation may be incorporated into

solutions for any one or all of the aforementioned priority areas.