Needs Assessment

Mano en Mano | Hand in Hand developed a Community Needs Assessment within our office in 2011 to survey both our Milbridge clientele and clients in our surrounding area. This scope includes 85 families and the towns of Gouldsboro, Steuben, Cherryfield, Harrington, Columbia Falls, Jonesport, and Machias.

To view the results of our Needs Assessment, please view:

Needs Assessment Executive Summary (PDF): This report is reproduced in full text on this page so you can read below or download a PDF copy.
Needs Assessment Reports: This is the most user-friendly option and allows you to choose between selected, summarized, and full survey responses. The password is: 2012.
Needs Assessment Summary Report (PDF): This is a report of the most information we found to be most informative. For your convenience, it is available as a PDF.
Contact our staff directly and ask for a specific report and/or interpretation.
Raw Data (CSV): This is especially useful for statisticians and researchers. Personally identifiable information has been removed.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We created the survey to get as comprehensive an understanding as possible of the current needs of the population we serve, and to inform the development of a new strategic plan for our organization that could accurately portray client interest and needs. In addition, no survey of this scale (either in length or issue area) had ever been conducted with our client base, so we were provided the unique opportunity to collect a variety of data on a range of topics. Finally, data and findings from this Needs Assessment are useful to share with partner agencies who also serve clients in Downeast Maine.

The writing of this Community Needs Assessment began during Summer 2011. Our survey’s questions were based off of a needs assessment, which was in English and Spanish, developed by Christine Roberts of HUD in Manatee County, Florida. The Manatee Survey was longer and its stakeholders were more interested in Housing, so we cut and edited certain sections and reorganized categories for our purposes. We added some questions pertinent to Mano en Mano and our specific programming, but the bulk of our questions were based on the Manatee survey. The main sections we covered were Community, Faith, Family, Demographics, Education, Work and Money, Health Drugs and Alcohol, Housing, and questions about Mano en Mano. After developing the survey, we received feedback and edits on the draft from partner agencies and colleagues so that the assessment was representative and also appropriate. This published data represents more of a selection of the survey’s findings in several key areas that give us an overarching view of the project.

After developing the survey in English, we translated the assessment into Spanish and reviewed the document several times with the two bilingual surveyors we hired to conduct the interviews. After working to ensure that the Spanish was understandable for the local population in our area, we divided up our client list between the surveyors, and also interviewed some individuals that we work with only occasionally. Our surveyors filled out paper surveys during their interviews and the data was entered into an online tracking tool. The majority of interviews were conducted in person in respondents’ homes; some surveys were conducted over the phone. While we had a list of clients that were interviewed, all the information and responses remained voluntary and confidential. No names or family information were associated with their answers or our reporting. The bulk of the surveys were conducted in Spanish, but we did have a portion of English surveys conducted with those who wished to be interviewed in English, or with some native English speakers.

Before interpreting data, it’s important to acknowledge a few of this survey’s weaknesses. Some questions did not have the right answers, or include enough variety, which resulted in some misclassification of responses. Because the purpose of this survey was to inform our work at Mano en Mano, we focused on our client base and branched out a little beyond that, but this resulted in a small sample size. Additionally, some of our client base was out of the country or unavailable for interview, so we still did not encompass the entire scope we had initially envisioned. The Manatee survey was also developed by service providers, and therefore some categories of questions were overlooked such as employment law and immigration, as examples. Including every category is impossible both because the survey length becomes prohibitive and interviewing individuals all the more difficult.

In the selection of data in this report, the demographic snapshot shows the following trends: a large percentage of respondents (78.5%) were born in Mexico, with smaller numbers spread between Honduras, El Salvador, the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Out of total interviews, 89% self-identified as Hispanic/Latino, 8% as White/Anglo, and 1% each as Haitian and African American. The majority of respondents (93%) had been employed in farmwork within the last year; household annual income fell largely in the range of $10,000 – $15,000, with the next percentage falling in the range of $15,000 – $20,000. These findings indicate that the majority of our clients are employed in some kind of farmwork and that household income for families typically falls below the poverty line. In terms of community access, only about half of respondents felt comfortable with their knowledge of town/local rules and regulations and participated in general community events. The majority (77%) felt very safe in their neighborhood.

In terms of family, respondents were largely made up of families or individuals with partners. Of total individuals surveyed, 66% have at least one child under 18 in the household. The data shows that these households largely have both Spanish and English speakers, followed next by only Spanish speakers. This kind of data reflects both the English language skills of longer time residents, and of children in the home who attend local English schools. Additionally, with a longer time resident population, families are more likely to be settled together for most of the year. Even with some English in the home, about a third of respondents reported having little or no English ability, and nearly two thirds of total respondents desired ESL classes.

Employment shows an equal share of work between partners in families, and about half at full employment. The data on farmwork employment shows a wide spread, but indicates processing factories, fieldwork (mainly blueberries), cutting sea cucumbers, and wreaths/tipping as the most common employment among those surveyed. It does suggest some travel for work outside of state, such as for citrus and blueberry harvesting in New Jersey. The data shows a near split in the ability of respondents to save money each year. Additionally, over 50% of individuals surveyed said they had an interest in starting their own business. Local health services are accessed largely through the [Harrington] clinic, followed by the hospital and the Maine Migrant Health Program, and 80% of individuals say they didn’t have trouble getting services when they needed them. The findings on Housing showed a variety of responses as well – nearly half of respondents live in a trailer or mobile home (45%) followed by single family homes and apartment buildings. Cost of rent per month for households ranged from $0 – $750, with an average of $388 per month. Some of the lower numbers are reflected in worker-provided housing where some workers pay little rent, or pay rent by individual. While the majority of the respondents are renters, 87% expressed interest in owning a home. Combined, these renters pay over $250,000 per year in rent!

Surveys and data collection on their own are never perfect, nor do they perfectly represent the realities or lives of individuals surveyed. These tools, however, provide more concrete data and information where there was never any before, and give us a clearer look at our clientele’s demographics, work and income level, education and English level, health access, and quality and nature of housing. This project was funded primarily by the Maine Health Access Foundation with help from the Maine Community Foundation for research and a summer internship.

Please contact Bethany Woods with any questions: 598-8926 or bwoods@manomaine.org.

Thank you, and enjoy learning more about our community.