Working with Santa Cruz County Human Services Department to understand the needs of their aging population
CLIENT: Santa Cruz County Human Services Department | PROJECT LENGTH: 18 months
In 2023, we were hired to do a community needs assessment (CNA) for the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department to understand the strengths and challenges of their aging and elderly population to inform their Master Plan on Aging.
Our team was tasked with developing a community survey to gauge the needs of the aging and elderly population of Santa Cruz County. To center the experiences of aging and elderly community members themselves, we empaneled a community steering committee that helped name the effort and design a logo, identify the questions to ask on the survey, strategize and implement outreach and recruitment efforts, interpret results of findings, and develop policy recommendations. We also held a series of focus groups open to community members ages 40+ to help identify central issues that needed to be covered in the survey instrument.
In partnership with steering committee members, our team also administered surveys at a food distribution event in a rural area in the county, and worked with community-based organizations serving the county’s most vulnerable and marginalized populations to ensure their voices were represented.
The CNA effort will close with a gathering with community member interest holders and a gathering of policymakers to reflect on the data, make meaning, draft, and prioritize policy recommendations that arise from the community input gathered in this process to shape the County’s Master Plan on Aging.
