Franklin County, North Carolina : an action-oriented community diagnosis ; findings and next steps of action
Creators: name: McKenna, Kevin
name: Waters, Emily
name: Sarker, Tania
name: Bourget, Erica
name: Parvanta, Sarah
name: Bates, Jessica
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: Between October 2006 and April 2007, a team of six students from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conducted an Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD) of Franklin County, North Carolina. The purpose of this AOCD was to learn about the strengths, challenges, and needs of the community, to assist the community in identifying priorities, and to bring the community together to openly discuss and work towards action steps that address the identified issues. The AOCD was conducted with the help of preceptors Cynthia Gary and Becky Leonard at the Franklin County Health Department. The AOCD process began with the team becoming acquainted with Franklin County by reviewing available data on the area, attending events, and meeting residents and employees. The team proceeded to conduct 39 interviews with community members and service providers, as well as one focus group of six youth. The team analyzed this data and created a list of the 14 issues that were most often mentioned as priorities to the people of Franklin County. Each issue was summarized in a theme statement that represented the team’s understanding of popular sentiment. With the help of a Forum Planning Committee (FPC) that consisted of nine service providers and community members, the team planned a community forum. The FPC narrowed the greater list of 14 themes to 5, based on importance and changeability. The themes selected were: Youth Recreation and Entertainment: There is a desire for additional public facilities in Franklin County to provide recreation and/or entertainment activities for youth. Economic Development: There is a need to support new and current businesses in Franklin County to enhance local economy and create new job opportunities. Physical Activity: A lack of physical activity options is contributing to increasing rates of obesity in Franklin County. Mental Health: There is an impression that the needs of people with mental health concerns are not being met, either because of a lack of services, lack of awareness of services available, or stigma attached to seeking help for mental health. Transportation: There is a need for inexpensive transportation options to increase access to services and resources for some residents of Franklin County. The community forum took place on April 24, 2007. At the forum, small group discussions led to the creation of action steps for four of the five themes (the discussion on transportation was dissolved for lack of attendees). Forum attendees then volunteered to oversee the execution of each action step, listed below. Youth Recreation and Entertainment: Talk to the board of the Boys & Girls Club about hosting fundraising events for youth participation in recreation. Talk to county political leaders about funding/tax allocation for more recreation facilities and options for youth. Talk to the Franklin County Schools superintendent about a sports uniform recycling program. Contact church leaders about scholarships for youth participation in recreation activities. Communicate with 4-H, Parks and Recreation, and The Franklin Times about the need to increase recreation facilities and activity options in Franklin County. Ask for support from these organizations in creating new options and increasing county-wide communication about recreation and entertainment options for youth. Economic Development: Establish a study committee to look at educational opportunities that match current local job opportunities. Support the application for the 21st Century grant for Franklin County Schools. Encourage continued support for economic development by increasing awareness of activities and initiatives among community members and county commissioners. Build collaboration between agencies (such as the Health Department, Planning, etc.) to work on a one-stop permitting process. Physical Activity: Talk to The Franklin Times about publishing a regular health column written by representatives of community organizations. Encourage physical activity competitions among various places of employment, community groups, schools, and other organizations in the county. Mental Health: Plan a meeting to organize the formation of a mental health advocacy group that will work to increase the number of mental health providers in Franklin County through recruitment and education. The team hopes that the engagement and motivation displayed by the people of Franklin County at the forum will result in continuing momentum to meet and build upon these action steps. In addition, the team would like to make the following recommendations as actions that may help build upon the county’s strengths while addressing some of its needs: Expand inter-agency communication. Many service providers were not aware of other programs and resources in the county. One positive step in this direction is an inter-agency lunch that takes place the last Wednesday of each month. Provide additional activity options for youth other than sports. Involve youth in the planning of facilities or programs that affect youth. Continue to support economic growth and increased job opportunities while respecting the pace and tranquility that residents appreciate. Begin to recognize and address nutrition as a contributor to obesity. Improve communication between decision-makers and the community, to better inform leaders of the county’s needs and the public of the activities and decisions made by their government. Conduct greater in-depth analysis of the needs and implications of the growing Latino population. Work towards greater service provision in Spanish. The purpose of this document is to serve as a resource to Franklin County by describing the Franklin County AOCD process, discussing the findings, and presenting the next steps of action developed by the Franklin County community.