Interviews with Local Stakeholders

Local stakeholders were identified by members of the coalition and were interviewed by
TPMA staff. A complete list of interviewees, along with their representation, can be found in the appendices of this document.

The views expressed during the interviews are included in this section of the report. The interview guide was designed to solicit information in the following broad areas:

· Perceived unmet needs facing LaPorte County
· Resource allocation
· Duplication of services
· Improving services in LaPorte County
· Information coordination / Information hub
· Obtaining information

· Perceived Needs Top
When asked what they perceived as the greatest unmet needs facing LaPorte County, most stakeholders selected issues that were close to their expertise. (A complete list of the needs can be found in the appendices of this document.) However, when they were asked to narrow their list down to the two or three most pressing needs facing the county, several common issues became apparent. These issues included:

· Education
Education was the need mentioned most often by stakeholders. In addition, there were many different aspects of education contained within the heading.
-The quality of the education received by students
-The instability associated with a high turnover among school principals.
-Adult workforce training and retraining. (Many stakeholders in business and industry mentioned the need for individuals to have educational      opportunities to improve their economic situation).
- The cost of education.

· Transportation
Transportation was the need mentioned second most often by stakeholders. Several cited the affects of a lack of public transportation to LaPorte from all points in the county. In addition, there are services throughout the county that people cannot access due to lack of countywide public transportation. The limitations of existing transportation services was also cited as a problem. Many felt that the services should be expanded geographically and times extended in order to more adequately serve the people of LaPorte County.

· Housing
Housing was the need mentioned third most often. This category, much like education, had several different aspects under the general heading of housing.
-Safe and affordable housing for the elderly
-Homelessness, especially male homelessness
-Cost and quality of housing
-Quality affordable housing is an important issue for all people in LaPorte County. As was pointed out during the interviews, this is a problem for those with limited income as well as the destitute.

Resource Allocation Top
Those interviewed were asked whether or not they believed there were too many resources being allocated to one issue. Out of the 27 stakeholders interviewed, 17 said there were not. They believed that better coordination among providers could help solve some of the issues facing the county. Six believed there were too many resources allocated to one issue and four people were undecided.

Those who said there were too many resources allocated to specific issues identified the following:
Prison population
Welfare-To-Work
Special education programs
Children's causes
Rectifying and not preventing problems

Duplication of services Top
Interestingly enough, two-thirds of the stakeholders did not believe too many resources were being allocated to a single problem. However, when asked if there was duplication of services by agencies in LaPorte County, 22 of the 27 interviewed answered yes. This paradox of opinion demonstrates that people are aware of problems in LaPorte County but may not be fully aware of their complexity. This is not to say that agencies are not effective in their efforts, but they have limited capacities and resources sufficient to solve problems. One reason cited is that resources are not being coordinated effectively enough. More than one provider of a service is acceptable; however, coordination is needed to maximize the resources for the greatest impact.

Improving services in LaPorte County Top
When asked how services could be improved in LaPorte County, several different answers were given. One suggestion was to bring back the Community Service Council (formed early1970's to provide a communication and coordination forum for all social service agencies in Michigan City), while other suggestions included implementing impact fees to cover costs of programs. The suggestions that received the most support included more coordination of resources, reallocating monies, offering more grant opportunities and streamlining the grant process. The fact that the number one suggestion was better coordination of resources demonstrates the need for agencies to work together. This is also an affirmation of the previous section.

Information coordination/Information hub Top
When stakeholders were asked whether or not the lack of a central coordinated information and referral service hindered the effectiveness of agencies to help the general public, 19 of the 27 interviewed answered yes. Although there are numerous services provided, it is the opinion of those interviewed that people do not know where to find the resources they need. When asked a follow-up question of whether officials should explore the possibility of establishing an information hub to coordinate various agency efforts, the same number (19 of 27) said yes. Several of those interviewed made the following suggestions/observations:
ü People can be territorial, so turf issues should be avoided.
ü A hub would be needed in each city
ü One person questioned whether the county was too large for a coordinated system to work

Obtaining information Top
Those interviewed were asked where people in LaPorte County currently obtained their information regarding agencies and resources (more than one source could be named). The results are as follows:

While the stakeholders' perception that people used word of mouth as the primary means of receiving information concerning services coincided with the survey results, they were inconsistent with regards to other sources (see page 39 of this report). It is clear that the average citizen or person in need of services in LaPorte County does not utilize the Internet or Access LaPorte County for their information. Most citizens surveyed indicated they use the newspaper or referrals to obtain information. Interestingly, although stakeholders did not consider the newspaper a highly utilized source of information and referral, the general survey indicated it is used frequently.