LaPorte County Focus Groups

Focus groups were organized as a means to motivate participation by the public in identifying the needs facing LaPorte County. The objective of the focus groups was to gather citizens' input, concerns, and opinions about LaPorte County in order to identify the greatest needs facing the community. In addition, discussion was designed to elicit responses regarding where people currently obtain information about services, where they would prefer getting that information, and how they perceive current service provision.

TPMA conducted a total of eight focus groups in LaPorte County from Monday, July 24th through Wednesday, July 26th. The focus groups were organized in the following manner:

· One (1) focus group comprised of the United Way of LaPorte County Board of Directors
· Two (2) focus groups to which all human service providers in LaPorte County were invited
· Five (5) focus groups (one in each of the five largest communities) to which the general public was invited.

This overall structure facilitated participation and input from several different points of view. The gatherings were strategically located to motivate participation from the entire county. The attendance at each group ranged from one to twenty-five participants. Seven of the eight focus groups (excluding the United Way Board of Directors) were publicly announced gatherings. In all cases, free refreshments and cash door prizes were used to motivate participation. Times and locations of the focus groups were advertised via mail, radio, local television, chamber of commerce newsletters and mailings, and in all local newspapers. Specific information, including date, time, location and type of focus group, is listed in the appendices.