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NATIVE ELDER NUTRITION EDUCATION & TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT

TITLE VI PROGRAM STAFF TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY 

The survey that you are about to take is to find out what type and form of training you, as

staff of the Title VI program, feel you need to do your job effectively and better.

Across the country among the Title VI programs and staff, many do their jobs without

much training – and most do by “on the job training (OJT). 

The National Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging, hosted by Meals on Wheels America 

with support the Administration for Community Living, is seeking to better understand the 

training and education needs of Title VI Nutrition Program staff like you.

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions and if you feel like a particular

question does not apply to you or how you feel, feel free to write “N/A” in the space

provided. This most likely would apply to QUESTIONS 7 thru QUESTION 11.

Upon completing the survey, please return the survey to your supervisor, manager, or

director. They will be returning this survey to a Consultant for analysis. This will then be 

used to better understand and develop training here and other Title VI programs in the 

country.

We thank you in advance for your help and assistance in helping us understand the needs in

your program.
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NATIVE ELDER NUTRITION EDUCATION & TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT

TITLE VI PROGRAM STAFF TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY 

Ft. Berthold Interim Survey Results; 14 Staff, N=14 (100%)

Organization: 

There were no responses to this question.

Age:

AGE RANGE: 19 – 84

AVERAGE AGE: 47

MEDIAN AGE: 48.5

Tribe: 

NON-MHA NATION: 1

 MHA NATION: 13

Tribal Member:

NON-MEMBER TRIBAL: 1

MHA NATION MEMBER: 13

Years of Education:

RANGE IN YEARS: 2-16+ YEARS

AVERAGE YEARS: 12.4 YEARS

1. State where Tribe is located:

NORTH DAKOTA: 14

OTHER: 0

2. Are you a member of the tribe where you are working? 

YES: 9 (64%)

NO: 4 (29%)

NO RESPONSE: 1 (7%) 

3. What is your position within the program? (Circle all that applies)

a. Director: RESPONSE: 0

b. Cook: RESPONSES: 10 (71%)

c. Driver: RESPONSES: 3 (21%)

d. Caregiver: RESPONSES: 2 (14%)
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e. Volunteer: RESPONSES: 2 (14%)

f. Other: RESPONSE: 1 (MAINTENANCE) (7%)

4. Years worked for the program: (Circle one which applies)

a. 0-1: RESPONSES: 6 (43%)

b. 2-4: RESPONSES: 4 (29%)

c. 5-10: RESPONSES: 3 (21%)

d. 11 +: RESPONSES: 1 (7%)

5. Do believe you have received adequate training to do your job?(Circle one which applies)

a. Yes: RESPONSE: 10 (71%)

b. No: RESPONSE: 0

c. Not Sure: RESPONSE: 3 (21%) 

d. Not Yet: RESPONSE: 1 (7%)

6. What area of training do you believe you need more of? (Circle all that applies)

a. Personnel Management (i.e. such as employee law, position responsibilities, conflict 

management, hiring/suspension/termination practices, etc.)

 RESPONSE: 2 (14%)

b. Program Management((i.e. program requirements, program reporting such as # of people 

served, # of meals served, etc) 

 RESPONSE: 6 (43%)

c. Financial/fiscal (i.e. fiscal requirements, budgeting, costing, audits, reports to funding 

agency, communication with program management, etc.)

 RESPONSE: 3 (21%)

d. Food Preparation: 

 RESPONSE: 4 (29%)

e. Other: Customer Service:

 RESPONSE: 1 (7%) 

7. If in the area of “Personnel Management”, what would you want to know more about? 

 RESPONSE: Conflict Resolution: 1 

8. If in the area of “Program Management”, What would you want to know more about? 

 RESPONSE: Budget Reports: 1

 RESPONSE: Monthly Reports: 1

 RESPONSE: State Reports: 1

9. If in the area of “Financial/fiscal”, what would you want to know more about? 

 RESPONSE: Budgeting: 3

 RESPONSE: Costing: 1
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 RESPONSE: Audits: 1

 RESPONSE: Personal Budgeting: 1

10. If in the area of “Food Preparation”, what would you want to know more about? 

 RESPONSE: Safe Serving Certificate: 2 

 RESPONSE: Brand vs. Off Brand Foods

 RESPONSE: Refresher Course: 2

 RESPONSE: Food Varieties: 1

 RESPONSE: Large group Cooking: 1

11. If you circled “Other”, what would want to know more about? RESPONSE: 0

12. If you are the Cook and a course was developed to help you learn more about your job, would 

you be interested in taking the course?

a. Yes: RESPONSE: 11 (79%)

b. No: RESPONSE: 0

c. Not sure: RESPONSE: 1 (7%) 

d. Not Answered: RESPONSE: 2 (14%)

13. If a course was to be developed and made available on Older Americans Act Title VI Nutrition 

Program, would you be interested in taking the course?

a. Yes: RESPONSE: 12 (86%)

b. No: RESPONSE: 0

c. Not sure: RESPONSE: 1 (7%) 

d. Not Answered: RESPONSE: 1 (7%)

14. In the Older Americans Act Title VI Nutrition Program course, what are some of the subjects 

that you want to learn more about? (Circle all that applies)

a. Older Americans Act requirements: 

RESPONSE: 5 (36%)

b. Nutrition basics (general health, chronic disease, and nutrition information)

RESPONSE: 7 (50%)

c. Nutrition services basics

RESPONSE: 6 (43%)

d. Portion sizing (Amount of food to prepare for each meal)

RESPONSE: 7 (50%)

e. Quantity Food Preparation (Cooking for a large number of people)

RESPONSE: 7 (50)

f. Conversion (Understanding how to translate liters to quarts, etc.)

RESPONSE: 5 (36%)
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g. Menu Planning (Learning how to plan meals for the month)

 RESPONSE: 6 (43%) 

h. Fiscal management and reporting (what is allowed, and how to report on programmatic 

activity). RESPONSE: 3 (21%)

i. Basic food service (quantity production, inventory, portioning)

 RESPONSE: 6 (43%) 

j. Inventory management 

 RESPONSE: 6 (43%) 

k. Food safety and Sanitation

 RESPONSE: 7 (50%)

l. Nutrition program management in emergency situations, emergency management

 RESPONSE: 7 (50%)

m. Use and inclusion of traditional foods

 RESPONSE: 8 (57%)

n. Customer service (dealing with difficult people, obtaining feedback from clients)

 RESPONSE: 5 (36%)

o. Recipe development

 RESPONSE: 4 (29%)

p. Kitchen facilities management (buying equipment, etc). 

 RESPONSE: 2 (14%)

q. Computer utilization

 RESPONSE: 4 (29%)

r. Socialization Activities

 RESPONSE: 6 (43%)

s. Exercise Program

 RESPONSE: 7 (50%)

t. Videos (How to videos)

 RESPONSE: 1 (7%)

u. Other: RESPONSE: 0

15. If classes were available and if you want to take these classes, would it be easier for you if: 

(Circle one as your preference)

a. Attend classesin person away from your worksite. 

 RESPONSE: 8 (57%)

b. Take classes online (Internet)

 RESPONSE: 4 (29%)

c. Take Webinar classes

 RESPONSE: 1 (7%)

d. Video training

 RESPONSE: 4 (29%)

e. Instructors at worksite (Hands on training)

 RESPONSE: 8 (57%)
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f. Other: RESPONSE: 0 

g. Not Answered: RESPONSE: 1 (7%)

16. If a Certificate course was offered, what length of time would you prefer to complete the 

course? (Circle one that applies)

a. 3 months:

RESPONSE: 10 (71%)

b. 6 months:

RESPONSE: 3 (21%)

c. 9 months: 

RESPONSE: 1 (7%)

d. 12 months: 

RESPONSE: 0 

Not Answered: RESPONSE: 2 (14%)

17. In the position you currently hold, do you see a time when you will move to a higher position 

within the program or elsewhere?

a. Yes

RESPONSE: 1 (7%)

b. No

RESPONSE: 7 (50%)

c. Not Sure

RESPONSE: 6 (43%)

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS SURVEY!

For resources on nutrition and aging, please visit: 

https://nutritionandaging.org/nutrition-food-health/native-foods/ 
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BRIEF SUMMARY ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA

(Ft. Berthold Title VI Program)

PREFACE:

The following is a cursory analysis of the data received from the Ft. Berthold Indian Title VI program. It 

should not be considered an “analysis” as standardly used in the research field. However, this overview 

and interpretation of the survey results are from a unique perspective: An American Indian 

understanding of tribal communities. 

THE SURVEY: 

The survey instrument had 17 questions, some with subsections. 13 of the questions were close-ended 

questions and 4 were open-ended questions. Open-ended questions were numbers 7 through 10. The 

return rate was 100%. There were instances where the questions were not answered by the respondent 

and for that reason, “Not Answered” or “No Response” were included to ensure that they were 

documented.

The results are from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The reservation is home to three tribal 

groups: Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) and also known as Three Affiliated Tribes. The survey had a 

total of 14 respondents resulting in 14 instruments that were disseminated and returned. The 

respondents were staff of the Elderly program excluding the Director.

THE OBSERVED AND DOCUMENTED RESULTS: 

Of the 14 staff working in the program, 13 responded they were MHA tribal members. Yet, when asked 

if they were members of the tribe where they were working 4 responded that they were not. It appears 

that this question is prone to misinterpretation. The staff range in age from 19-84 years. The average 

age is 47 years. The median age of the staff is 48.5 years indicating a relatively youthful group, but in 

Indian Country, this is age would be considered “older.” 

Of the 14 staff, 10 identified themselves as Cooks; 3 indicated they were Drivers; 2 as Volunteers; and 1 

as Maintenance. The responses indicate that some staff have more than one job responsibility. It 

seems that this confirms results of studies done by other organizations such as n4a and University of 

North Dakota. Of the 14 staff, more than half have worked for the program for less than 4 years (72%) 

with 60% of this group have worked for the program 1 year or less.

In response to training needs, most appear to be related to the “details” of Program Management 

(“Reports”) and Food Preparation (“Cooking for large groups, refresher courses, safety issues, etc.). 

Some were interested in the Financial/Fiscal aspects such as budgeting, costing and audits.
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There was great interest in learning more about their respective jobs. 79% indicated they would be 

willing to take a course if one was available. When specifically asked about nutrition training needs, 

86% indicated they would be willing to take courses that contain a number of topics such as from Older 

Americans Act Title VI requirements to “how to” videos. Of these topics, the most interest were those 

relating to proportions (50%), cooking for large groups (50%), emergency situations (50%) and 

traditional foods (57%).

In expressing their preferred mode of training, the two highest preferred methods of training were 

classes away from the worksite and instructors onsite providing “hands on training.” A training program 

that offered a certificate and one that lasted 3 months was the most preferred (71%). From the 

responses relating to career ladders (personal aspirations), half of the respondents responded that they 

see themselves moving to higher positions within the organization.