s 354.279 C18CNA 2006 THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS ^WTF eorffMFNTS COLLECTION MONTANA STAfE LI88ARV MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE APRIL, 2006 MontanaSlateLibrary 3 0864 1003 8933 THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS Montana Department of Commerce AnthonyJ. Preite, Director Dave Cole, Administrator Community DevelopmentDivision Gus Byrom, CDBG Program Manager Housing and Public Facilities Program Specialists: Joe LaForest Neal Ullman Frank Kromkowski Joanne Gilbert, Program Assistant E-mail: [email protected] 301 South ParkAvenue Helena, MT 59620-0523 Phone: (406)841-2791 Fax:(406)841-2771 Website: http://comdev.mt.gov/CDD_cdbg.asp April, 2006 "The future now depends on people all over the country working togethertomakethingsbetterintheirparticularplace. Itdependson peopleindifferentkindsofplaces-largeandsmalltowns,urbanand ruralneighborhoods-askingthemselveswhatcanwedotomakethis communityamorehopefulplacetobeyoung,amorerewardingplace to work, andamorefriendlyplace togrowold." AliceRivlln, formerDirectorofthe CongressionalBudgetOffice and Vice-Chairofthe FederalResen/eBoard TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT- 4 1. FORTHE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM 2. CDBG CITIZEN PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS -S EXHIBITS A. COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENTTECHNIQUES A-1 B. NEEDS ASSESSMENT USINGA CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE -B-1 C. TIPS FOR CONDUCTING A TOWN MEETINGOR PUBLIC MEETING -C-1 D. SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING AND CONDUCTING CDBG COMMUNITY SURVEYS D-1 E. MINIMUM SAMPLE REQUIRED FOR SURVEY RESULTS TO BE CONSIDERED VALID -E-1 F. SAMPLE COVER LETTER FORA MAILED COMMUNITY SURVEY F-1 G. TOWN OF BRIDGER, MONTANA COVER LETTER G-1 H. MODEL COMMUNITY OPINION SURVEY FORM H-1 USING "20 CLUESTO RURAL COMMUNITY SURVIVAL" FORA I. COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT MEETING 1-1 J. 6 MYTHS ABOUTTHE FUTURE OF SMALLTOWNS J-1 K. 7 SECRETS TO COPING WITH CHANGE IN SMALLTOWNS -K-l RESOURCES FOR PREPARING A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT L. OR PLAN L-1 The forms included in the exhibits listed above can be ordered from the Department ofCommerce in compactdiscor3.5inch"floppy"computerdiskformattosimplifytheprocessofdesigninglocalforms for incomesurveysorforcompletingCDBGapplicationforms. TheformatusedbyMDOCisMicrosoftWord forWindows. Thepreparationofthispublication wasfunded, inpart, with technicalassistancefundsprovidedbythe Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD). CommunityDevelopmentBlockGrant(CDBG)Program TheCommunityNeedsAssessmentProcess MontanaDepartmentofCommerce 1 April,2006 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from IVIontana State Library http://www.archive.org/details/communityneedsas2006mont . THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT FOR THE 1. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM ThebasicframeworkofMontana'sCDBGProgramwasestablishedin 1982bya 14-memberTaskForce composed oflocal government officials thatwas appointed bythe Montana DepartmentofCommerce (MDOC) to design the State'sCDBG program. TheTask Force recommended including a requirement thatcommunitiesconducta "needsassessment"processbeforeapplyingforCDBGfunding.Theintent of Task Force members was to encourage Montana communities to move away from a "crisis management" approach to community problem-solving and instead adopt a view of community developmentasalong-termprocessofplanned,incrementalactionstoimprovethecommunityovertime. Inaddition,theTaskForcemembersfeltstronglythatbroadpublicinvolvementwascriticalfortheprocess of setting community development objectives and to build public support to make a proposed project successful. Subsequently, in 1984, Congress amended the Federal Housing and Community DevelopmentActto requirethateachCDBGrecipient"identifyitscommunitydevelopmentand housingneeds, includingthe needs of low and moderate-income persons, and the activities to be undertaken to meetsuch needs." Accordingtothelegislativehistoryfortheamendment.Congressestablishedthisrequirementtopromote better-coordinated strategies foraddressing local needs, particularly astheyaffect lowand moderate income persons. Apparently, Montana's CDBG Task Force and Congress independently developed similarrequirementsto address similarconcerns. The Montana CDBG Program requires thateach local governmentapplicantfora CDBG Public Facilities orHousing projectmustconducta planning process thatconsidersand describes: 1 Theapplicant'scommunitydevelopmentneeds, includingtheneedsoflowandmoderate income persons; and 2. Theactivities itplansto meetthe identified needs. ItistheintentofMontana'sCDBG Programthatgovernmentstakefull advantageoftheirlocal planning programs and not unnecessarilyduplicatetheirlocal planningeffortssolelyforthe purposeofmeeting the CDBG "needs assessment" requirement. In many cases, a local government may have already identified "community development and housing needs" by preparing a community "growth policy." (Senate Bill 97, passed bythe 1999 Montana Legislature, substitutedtheterm "growth policy"forwhat waspreviouslyreferredtoasa"comprehensiveplan"or"masterplan"instatelaw.) Whereacommunity has an existing, adopted growth policy, MDOC stronglyencourages local officials to use itto meetthe requirementthat CDBG applicants "identifycommunitydevelopmentand housing needs" and possible activitiesto meetthose needs. Given the limited resources available to most communities, MDOC discourages stand-alone planningactivitiesorcommunitysurveysthatareintendedforCDBGapplicationpurposesonly, which are notbeing coordinated withthe local government'son-going planning program. There is no one recommended procedure that applicants should use in identifying community developmentneedsandpossiblesolutionsforthoseneeds.Somepeoplethinkthataneedsassessment meansacommunitysurvey. Asurveyisonewaytoapproachacommunityneedsassessment,butthere are otherequallyeffective techniques. In the past, some local governments have assignedthetaskof identifying needstoan existing local planning board. Others haveformed special short-termtaskforces CommunityDevelopmentBlockGrant(CDBG)Program TheCommunityNeedsAssessmentProcess MontanaDepartmentofCommerce 2 April,2006 orcitizen committeesorutilized community-widetown meetings, neighborhood meetings, orinterviews with community leaders. Whatever approach is followed, the applicant must, at a minimum, meetthe CDBG citizen participation requirementsdescribed below. Some communities havealreadyconducted verysimilarplanning orneedsassessmentprocessesthat maybeusedtomeetthefederalCDBGrequirementforidentifyingcommunitydevelopment andhousing needsand possiblesolutionsforthem: • Several counties and multi-county areas have prepared a "Comprehensive Economic DevelopmentStrategy"(CEDS)withfundingfromtheU.S.EconomicDevelopmentAdministration (EDA).TheCEDSisaprerequisiteforreceivingfinancialassistancefromseveralEDAprograms. • Anumberofcommunitieshaveprepared"ResourceTeamAssessments" inconjunctionwiththe Montana DepartmentofCommerceorMontana Economic DevelopersAssociation. • SomeMontanacommunitieshavedeveloped"CommunityActionPlans"withgrantsfromtheU.S. ForestService. • Other Montana communities have prepared "Needs Assessments," "Strategic Plans" or "Community Vision Plans," many with assistance from the community development staff from Montana State University'sCooperative Extension Service. All ofthesealternativescan potentiallybeusedtofulfill theneedsassessmentrequirement. TheCDBGrequirementtoevaluatecommunityneedsandidentifyactionsoractivitiestomeet themcan also provide an opportunityto reviewexisting special purpose plans such asforcapital improvements, economic development, housing, or urban renewal areas to determine if they still adequately reflect currentconditions, needs, and community priorities. Theintentoftheneedsassessmentrequirementistoprovideacommunitywithalistofpotentialprojects oractions that could be pursued overa period ofyears in orderto improvethe community. The needs assessmentprocessdoesnothavetoberepeatedifapreviouslypreparedneedsassessmentorplanning processstillaccuratelyreflectsexistingconditionsand priorities. Ifanexistingneedsassessmentwill beusedasthebasisforreapplication,thelocalgovernmentcansimplysolicitpubliccommentson thepreviouslyidentifiedcommunityneeds andpriorities andtheplannedactivities to meetthe needsatoneormoreoftherequiredpublichearingstoseeiftheystillappeartobeappropriate. ASpecial NoteforCounties Regarding CommunityNeedsAssessments Thecountygoverningbodyistheappropriate,eligibleapplicantforCDBGprojectsintended to: - resolveproblemswithintheunincorporatedjurisdiction ofacounty; - resolve problemsthataretrulycountywide,regardlessofjurisdiction; - assista non-profitentity (such as a Human Resource DevelopmentCouncil) which servescountyresidents; or - resolveproblemswithinthe boundariesofcountywaterandsewerdistricts. CommunityDevelopmentBlockGrant(CDBG)Program TheCommunityNeedsAssessmentProcess MontanaDepartmentofCommerce 3 April,2006