Methods
Three types of information were gathered for this Assessment.

• Public, community leader and organizational perception of serious health and human issues in Franklin County via surveys and interviews
• Socio-Ecomomic Indicators
• Community Resources

Surveys were mailed to providers of service in Franklin County. The list was generated from the United Way of Greater St. Louis' Information & Referral Services database. In addition, community leaders received an adapted version of the survey sent to organizations that was not as in-depth in the area of service delivery. Community leaders were identified from the Franklin County Area United Way's Board of Directors and companies that contribute through their annual fundraising campaign. A list of government officials was also utilized. Personal interviews were conducted with select community leaders. Lastly, a third, more refined, survey was published in The Washington Missourian to gauge public perception.

Community Leaders

1. Developmentally Disabled Assistance
2. Mental Health
3. Transportation

Organizations

1. Transportation
2. Mental Health
3. Employment

Public

1. Mental Health
2. Transportation
3. Safety

Major Findings
There was consensus among participating groups as to the health and human service issue categories that were of most importance to them. Mental health and transportation were both indicated to be serious issues by at least 50% of all respondents and thus ranked within the top three issues of most importance. Safety rounded out the top three categories for public respondents. Safety issues include child abuse, family violence and delinquency. With community leaders, developmental disability assistance was the highest ranked issue over mental health and transportation. Employment issues ranked third with organizations. Community leaders and organizations were asked to rank more specific health and human issues under each category. There was not consistency among them as to the most serious specific health and human service issues. Leaders indicated substance abuse to be the most serious issue while for organizations it was dental care. Income care/assisted living and day care for persons with developmental disabilities ranked as the second and third issues of importance with community leaders. With organizations, the second and third issues were access to mental health care and public transportation.

Emerging Issues
As Franklin County continues to grow, new issues will emerge on the horizon. Participants indicated their view of upcoming issues in the County:

• Public respondents and community leaders both indicated population growth followed by employment/economy issues.
• Organizations named mental health and transportation as issues that would be on the rise in the next five years. While these issues are currently of serious concern to all participants, organizations view the effect of these unmet needs will only grow in the upcoming years.

Barriers to Access
Franklin County has a network of diverse services to address the multiple health and human service issues; however, oftentimes those in need do not utilize these services. Organizations indicated the most significant barriers preventing persons from accessing services to include, in order:

• Lack of knowledge about the service.
• Lacking transportation to the services.
• Inability to afford the service.
• Ineligibility for the service.

Assets and Resources
Franklin County is replete with assets as reported by respondents. When used to their capacity, these resources can be tapped to address the most serious of issues as identified by participants. Assets most frequently listed included:

• Franklin County residents
• Location
• Schools
• Community involvement
• Growth
• Economy and development