HEALTHY VALLEY 2000

Research Component

Community Health & Quality of Life Profile

The primary goal of Healthy Valley 2000 is to improve the health and quality of life in the Valley. Improvement implies movement from one point to another in a positive direction. Recognizing this movement requires the development and ongoing monitoring of a Community Health Profile. This first Profile measures health and quality of life indicators in a broad range of categories, including education, the economy, health, community safety, government, cost of living, social welfare and arts, culture & recreation.

The effort was coordinated by Dr. Hyung Chung at the Urban Management Institute of the University of Bridgeport. Valley data was compared with state norms. This data was used as a tool by the Stakeholder group to help select "Key Performance Areas" to focus on. This list is being fine tuned and reduced to a manageable "Report Card" which will be tracked on an ongoing basis (see below).

The Indicators gathered in 1996 include:

EDUCATION INDICATORS

- 4th Grade Mathematics Mastery Test Scores

- 4th Grade Reading Mastery Test Scores

- 4th Grade Writing Mastery Test Scores

- 6th Grade Mathematics Mastery Test Scores

- 6th Grade Reading Mastery Test Scores

- 6th Grade Writing Mastery Test Scores

- 8th Grade Mathematics Mastery Test Scores

- 8th Grade Reading Mastery Test Scores

- 8th Grade Writing Mastery Test Scores

- SAT Scores: Math

- SAT Scores - Verbal

- Student / Teacher Ratio

- % of Teachers with MA or Better Degrees

- School Expenditure per Pupil

- Average Class Size

- % of Graduates Pursuing Further Education

- High School Drop Out Rate

- % of Students in Special Education

- % of Students in Gifted Program

- # of Students per Computer

ECONOMY INDICATORS

- Annual Job Growth

- Manufacturing Jobs Added

- Unemployment Rate

- Effective Buying Income Per Capita

- New Housing Units Added

- Annual % Growth of Equalized Net Grand List

- Job/Labor Force Ratio

- Retail Sales per Capita

COMMUNITY SAFETY INDICATORS

- Violent Index Crimes per 100,000 Population

- Non-Violent Index Crimes per 100,000 Population

- # of Police per 1,000 Population

- Public Safety Expenditures Per Capita

- # of Arson Fires

- Violent Crimes by Persons Under 18

- Non-Violent Crimes by Persons Under 18

- Family Violence Incidents

GOVERNMENT

- % of Registered Voters Voted

- Equalized Mill Rate

- Municipal Debt Per Capita

- Municipal Expenditures Per Capita

- Cost of Living

- Median Housing Price

- Price of Electricity per KWH

- Property Tax Per Capita

SOCIAL WELFARE INDICATORS

- Births to Teen Mothers

- Persons Below Poverty Line

- % of Total Population Receiving AFDC

- Food Stamp Recipients

- Publicly Subsidized Housing: Family Units

- Elderly Housing Units

- United Way Contributions Per Capita

- Social/Health Service Expenditure Per Capita

- Alcohol and Drug Abusers

- Mental Retardation Active Clients

- Section 8 Vouchers/Rental Assistance

ARTS, CULTURE & RECREATION INDICATORS

- Public Library Books & Serials Per Capita

Community Health Profile Results

Data for the health indicators were compiled by Dr. Peggy Gallup of the Southern CT State University Public Health Department.  The health of the Valley community and its residents is very good overall, prompting the Healthy Valley 2000 group to give the Valley's health a grade of B+. The report includes the towns of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton.

The report shows the overall death rate for all causes and for all major diseases to be below the state rate. Also below the state rate were the infant death rate, low birth weight babies and births to teenage mothers. The number of infectious disease cases was significantly lower than the state rate in all areas including the sexually transmitted diseases of gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and AIDS. The other infectious diseases of Hepatitis A and B, Lyme disease and rabies were all below the state average, and there were no new cases of either tuberculosis or measles reported in 1994.

Substance abuse surveys of every 7th, 9th and 11th grader in Valley schools showed hard drug use somewhat lower than national averages as compared to Samie survey results and a University of Michigan survey of 12th graders. However, comparisons of tobacco, marijuana and alcohol use by youth showed Valley use above national averages.

Reports from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families showed the number of cases referred to regional office programs from the Valley to be 32% less than the state for total referrals and 33% less than the state for child abuse cases. Average referrals for the two year period 1992-94 were total referrals of 351 cases compared to the state average of 17,968 cases. The total referrals include 91 child abuse cases as compared to the state average of 4,747.

The report also looked at the number of Valley residents receiving state entitlements to assist in assessing quality of life and determining access to health care. The study found the number of Valley recipients of Medicaid, Food Stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and State Supplement benefits to be significantly less than the state average.

Average death rates reported for the 7 year period, 1986-92: >avg. death rate, all causes -- 2.2% below state >avg. death rate, heart -- 12.3% below state >avg. death rate, lung disease -- 6.7% below state >avg. death rate, pneumonia -- 3.1% below state >avg. death rate, cancer -- 2.4% below state >avg. death rate, stroke -- 1.9% below state

Information reported related to infant births and deaths (first year of life): >Infant death rate (1986-90) -- 6.2 deaths per 1,000 births -- 28% below state >An average of 8.4 deaths, and 1,346 births in the 1986-90 period >Low birth weight babies (less than 5.5 pounds) -- 5.2% of births -- 22% below state (1986-90) >Births to teenage mothers -- 4.9% of total births -- 43% below state (1986-90)

The report findings are good news for Valley residents and a credit to all of the health and human service agencies that serve Valley residents. The report will be continues to be added to with later annual information and additional areas. It will be maintained in the future to show trends and improvements.

Areas where Valley rates are worse than state averages include:

DEATH RATES (1989-91) >Lung cancer in men -- 23% above state and expected rate >Colon cancer in men -- 13% above state and expected rate >Ovarian cancer in women -- 25% above state and expected rate >Uterine cancer in women -- 9% above state and expected rate >Lung cancer in women -- 2% above state and expected rate

SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG YOUTH (Compared to national data -- 11th graders as compared to 12th graders nationally) >Higher % of Valley youth smoke daily -- 25% as compared to 19% nationally >Higher % of Valley youth use marijuana -- 40% average as compared to 35% nationally >Higher % of Valley youth who have binge drunk -- 32% average as compared to 28% nationally >Higher % of Valley youth who have ever used alcohol -- 91% average as compared to 87% nationally

The average death rate for non-medical deaths, excluding homicides, for the three years 1990-92 was slightly above the state rate. This includes total accidental deaths, motor vehicle deaths, suicides and legal interventions.

Additionally, information from the Connecticut Peer Review Organization showed that only 20% of women age 65 and older in the Valley are receiving screening mammograms, compared to 27%, which is also a very low number.

While the overall health of the Valley is very good, there are certainly areas that we as a community should focus on. The good health report card gives us the opportunity to channel our efforts to prevention and wellness initiatives which will further improve the community's health and residents' well being, and potentially reduce the overall cost of health care. One initiative planned by Healthy Valley 2000 as a next phase will be to conduct personal health risk assessments and health screenings for 5,000 residents, or about 5% of the population, from every community sector and culture in the next year. This initiative will involve numerous human and social service agencies including Griffin Hospital, Birmingham Group, TEAM, Visiting Nurse Association, Ansonia Community Action, Parish Nurse Program, as well as the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce and the business community. This will allow efforts to be focused on individual health improvement and gathering more information on the health needs of our community.

For further research results please contact Meher Shulman by e-mailing to <hv2000@electronicvalley.org> or by calling

(203) 735-3942

Perception Survey Results

While hard data is a key component in identifying and addressing key community issues, so are the opinions and perceptions of Valley residents and community leaders. Smith & Company, a marketing research firm in Shelton, coordinated a perception survey in 1996 that randomly surveyed over 400 Valley households on a broad range of health and quality of life issues. The Stakeholder group surveyed over 150 community leaders on the same set of issues. The Executive Summary follows.

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF THE VALLEY

• Nearly 3/4 of all respondents feel that the Valley is a good, very good, or excellent place to live, work, and shop. Long-term residents tend to rate the Valley somewhat higher than do new residents.
• Residents generally feel that others do not feel as positive about the Valley as they do. Nearly 1/2 feel that others rate the Valley as either fair or poor as a place to live, work, and shop.
• Respondents appear to enjoy the rural/quiet lifestyle of the Valley and the perceived "closeness" of the residents in their community. They also cite the low crime rate and the close proximity of cities, highways, and shopping as positives.

SOCIAL / FAMILY ISSUES

• Roughly 3/4 of all respondents feel that the Valley is a good place to raise a family, that there is a good racial and ethnic mix on the Valley, and there is tolerance for people with different viewpoints or lifestyles. This latter point raised the most, albeit small, disagreement.

COMMUNITY SAFETY

• While the majority of respondents indicate that they feel safe walking alone at night in their town and that their town has enough police officers, roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of all respondents do not feel that way.
• Nearly 4 in 10 respondents indicated that they would be willing to pay increased taxes to reduce crime and make community streets and neighborhoods safer.

THE ECONOMY

• Generally, the respondents are quite concerned about the economy of the Valley. There is a strong sense that there are not enough job opportunities (3/4 feel this way) and 2/3 do not feel that the Valley economy is strong.
• There is overwhelming support for Valley towns to work together on economic development issues.

HEALTH

• Respondents are generally satisfied with all of the health issues tested. The response time of emergency health services and the availability of basic medical services received the highest ratings.
• The high percentage of neutral responses for issues such as the availability of mental heath services, substance abuse treatment programs, and social and human services indicates a lack of awareness of these programs.

NATURAL AND MAN-MADE ENVIRONMENT

• There appears to be a high degree of concern about the environment in the Valley. While areas such as air quality, clean streets, road maintenance, and road signs rated highly, other areas, such as the ease of public transportation, the attractiveness of the Valley to visitors, and the large number of vacant buildings, raised some concerns.
• Nearly 1/2 of the respondents do not feel that we are doing enough to improve the environment in the Valley.

GOVERNMENT

• Generally, respondents are satisfied with the governments of their town. It should be noted, however, that there are wide differences from town to town in this portion of the survey.
• Areas of potential concern include the fact that at least 4 of 10 respondents feel that their tax dollars are not well spent and there are not enough recreational and social services for youth in the Valley.
• There is an overwhelming mandate for greater cooperation between town governments in the Valley, but nearly 1/2 still do not favor regionalization of some town services like police and public works.

HOUSING

• There is some disagreement on the issue of affordable housing. While over 1/2 feel that there is enough affordable housing in the Valley, 1/4 disagree.
• Roughly 1/4 feel that homelessness is a problem, while nearly 4 in 10 do not. Over 1/2 are neutral on the issue of whether or not there are sufficient homeless shelters.

ARTS, CULTURE, AND RECREATION

• There is apparently a perceived need for a greater number of recreational facilities and arts and entertainment offering in the Valley. Over 1/2 feel that the current recreation facilities are insufficient, while 2/3 feel the need for more arts and entertainment offerings. Roughly 1/2 of the respondents are willing to pay increased taxes to improve this situation.

EDUCATION

• The results of this section were affected by the large number of respondents without children in the public schools. Generally these respondents tended to have higher percentage of "neutral" rating on all issues.
• Significant percentages of respondents with children in the public schools are concerned about the quality of public schools, the number of after-school programs, and class sizes. Sizeable numbers of parents are opposed to more AIDS and sex education programs and school regionalization.

Perception Survey Results

A larger version of this graph is available...

The above indicators were used, along with the Perception Survey to select "Key Performance Areas." The Stakeholder group is now looking to fine tune this list and reduce it to a manageable set of indicators that will be tracked on an ongoing basis. The following Report Card is in draft form.

HEALTHY VALLEY 2000 PROPOSED REPORT CARD (DRAFT)

Economy Indicators

1. Annual Job Growth (Skilled & Unskilled) - Manufacturing Jobs Added

2. Unemployment Rate

3. Ratio of Jobs / Labor Force

4. Per Capita Income

5. Grand List Growth / # of new businesses

Crime / Safety Indicators

1. Crimes Per 1,000 Population - Violent & Non-Violent

2. Domestic Violence Cases / Abuse - Child Abuse - Elder Abuse

3. Accidental Deaths / Injuries

Education Indicators

1. % Going on to Advanced Education / Workforce

2. High School Drop-Out Rate

3. % That Pass All 3 Mastery Tests

4. # Of Non-Academic / Extra-Curricular Courses Offered (high school)

5. Student Volunteer Hours

6. Kids Voting USA

Civic Involvement

1. Electronic Valley - # of hits to web site - Usage at public access sites - Total # of pages / megabytes

2. Voter Registration & Participation - % 18-21

3. United Way Giving Per Capita (Compare to like communities)

4. # of Neighborhood Block Watches

5. Mentoring Hours / Programs

6. # Of Volunteers at VAC & VCHHSO Agencies

Arts , Culture & Recreation Indicators

1. Open Space

2. Library Usage - Clients - Volumes per capita - Circulation

3. Total listings on Community Calendar

4. Attendance at facilities / events

5. New programs / activities / events

Health Indicators

1. # Of Smoke-Free Restaurants

2. Substance Abuse Rates

3. Cancer Rates (identified in original health profile)

4. Mammography Screening Rate

5. # of Valley Infoline Callers Connected to Services

6. Air & Water Quality

HEALTHY VALLEY 2000 COMMUNITY REPORT CARD – DRAFT 12/30/98

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