AG 1992 03 16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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cation of the Board's charge, and Committee operations took place. For vari- ous reasons, the Committee decided to pursue acquiring the services of a facili- tator to assist it. Charles Page, United Way, and Bill McCoy, Urban Institute at UNC Charlotte, were chosen to provide this assistance. While the negotiations were underway with possible facilitators, the Com- mittee took a brief hiatus with meetings beginning again in August. The meet- ings of August 12. 26 and September 9 were used to review the range of social services provided, needs for additional services, County growth trends, and a visioning exercise. The actual work of developing recommendations related to the charge given the Committee by the Board of County Commissioners began with the September 23 meeting. These preliminary discussions resulted in a number of conclusions that guided the Committee in its consideration of recommendations. Cabmrus County has experienced a healthy growth rate over the past two decades from 74,629 in 1970 to 98,935 in 1990 for a two decade growth rate of 32.57 percent. Assuming a 15 percent growth rate per decade, Cabm'rus County's popu- lation is projected to be 113,775 in 2000 and 130,841 in 2010. This relatively rapid increase in population wi!! se- verely strain human service delivery in this county. Additional citizens and the need for more comprehensive ser- vices will require a substantial increase in statTmg for the de- livery of human services regardless of the recommended plan. This need is aggravated by the feeling of providers that they are currently under-staffed. To respond to the need for more services will require addi- tional space. The major human service providers currently utilize about 100,000 sq. ft. of space. The major providers believe that 50-75,000 sq. ff. of new space will be needed by 2000. If other providers, such as DEC, Social Security, Em- ployment Security Commission and others are considered, the needed new space may be in the 175,000 - 200,000 sq. ft. range. The needs for services tend to be greatest in the inner city portions of Concord and Kannapolis, however, all citizens of the County are potential users of some human service pro- grams. The current provision of human service programs in Cabar- ms County is characterized by chronic systemic problems, which are not currently being solved: under-stafFing, under- funding, over-specialization, fragmentation of services, and being more reactive than proactive in responding to clients' needs. Longitudinal research on preschool education has proven the effectiveness of early prevention in breaking the cycle of fail- ure seen in severely disadvantaged families. Preventing early failure through programs for parents and young children is 2