Compiled with assistance from

Holt, Wexler & Farnam, LLP

Community Indicators Report

COMMUNITY COMPASS

Introduction

This is the report of the Community Indicators Team, which has guided the collection of existing data to provide an objective measurement of a wide variety of community conditions, patterns and trends in support of the Community COMPASS process.

Categories

The Community Indicators Team identified indicators of community well-being in the following categories identified in conjunction with the COMPASS Partners. The report is organized by these categories.

1. Demographics
2. Basic and Special Needs
3. Economic Health
4. Health and Safety
5. Education and Children/Youth
6. Engagement (Civic and Philanthropic)
7. Environment (Natural and Constructed)

Process

Drawing on extensive work with data both in the Greater New Haven community and nationally, the Community Indicators Team identified a set of indicators for each domain that can be analyzed to answer critical questions about the region. All the indicator data included here as well as additional data will be stored and updated on the DataHaven web site, a collaborative community project to make a wide range of community information available on-line (www.ctdatahaven.org).

Regional Definition

Community COMPASS is working to engage leaders and residents of a 12-town Greater New Haven region composed of the nine-town United Way of Greater New Haven region and the three shoreline towns of Branford, Guilford, and Madison that are closely connected to the remainder of the region.

The 15-town South Central Connecticut Planning Region of the South Central Regional Council of Governments includes these towns plus the communities of Meriden, Milford, and Wallingford. The COG region is also used by the Regional Growth Partnership for economic development planning and execution.

The remaining towns of the COG region are served by two other United Ways—United Way of Milford and United Way of Meriden-Wallingford.

Other common regional definitions include the 20 town region served by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the 34 town South Central Unified Service Region used by most State agencies.

The analysis of community indicators incorporates all 15 towns of the South Central Connecticut Regional Planning Area to provide a wider context for the data and increase its utility across various planning processes. This 15-town region is the primary regional definition for the purposes of unified government action and regional economic development.

The Indicators

The agreed list of indicators developed by the Committee in consultation with the COMPASS Partners is contained on the cover of each section.

Community Indicators by Page Number

1. Demographics................................................................................................................. 4

What is the structure of families in our region?

1.1 Percentage of female and male single parent households......................................................................... 10

1.2 Percentage of family households with grandparents as primary caregivers........................................ 12

1.3 Percentage of families with both parents in the labor force.................................................................... 13

What is the demographic composition of our region?

1.4 Racial and ethnic distribution............................................................................................................................ 14

1.5 Percentage of population that is foreign born (total and arrived in last 10 years)............................. 16

2. Basic and Special Needs........................................................................................... 18

How adequate is the amount of affordable housing in our region?

2.1 Percentage of homeowners or renters paying

over 30 percent of annual household income on housing...................................................................... 20

What percentage of housing is owned?

2.2 Owner-occupancy rate ...................................................................................................................................... 22

How many households receive public assistance?

2.3 Percentage of households receiving public assistance................................................................................ 23

What is available in the areas of subsidized housing and housing shelters?

2.4 Demand for Available Bed Nights in Homeless Shelters......................................................................... 24

2.5 Percentage of housing units that are subsidized........................................................................................... 25

Are people getting the food they need?

2.6 Percentage of households experiencing food insecurity............................................................................ 26

How large is the disabled population in the region?

2.7 Number of persons with disabilities............................................................................................................... 27

3. Economic Health...................................................................................................... 28

What is the state of the regional economy?......................................................................... 29

What is the income/poverty gap?

3.1 Prosperity Index................................................................................................................................................... 30

3.2 Median household income................................................................................................................................ 32

3.3 Percentage of population living in poverty................................................................................................... 34

What is the state of the regional workforce?

3.4 Percentage of workers making less than self-sufficiency wages............................................................ 36

3.5 Unemployment Rate........................................................................................................................................... 37

3.6 Net Equalized Grand List per capita............................................................................................................. 38

4. Health and Safety....................................................................................................... 39

What are the major health issues?

4.1 Infant mortality rate............................................................................................................................................. 40

4.2 Low birth weight rate ........................................................................................................................................ 41

4.3 Cumulative AIDS cases ..................................................................................................................................... 42

4.4 Child asthma hospitalization rate..................................................................................................................... 43

4.5 Leading Causes of Death................................................................................................................................... 44

4.6 Healthy Lifestyles (Indicator to be developed)............................................................................................ 46

Do residents of the region have access to health care?

4.7 Number of HUSKY enrollees......................................................................................................................... 46

What are the major safety issues in the home and community?

4.8 Family Violence Incident Rate.......................................................................................................................... 47

4.9 Substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect............................................................................................. 48

4.10 Crime Rates ........................................................................................................................................................ 49

4.11 Juvenile Violent Crime Rate............................................................................................................................ 49

5. Education and Children/Youth................................................................................ 51

What is the level of economic and care support for pre-school aged children?

5.1 Non-adequate prenatal care.............................................................................................................................. 52

5.2 Percentage of children under 5 years living below the poverty level..................................................... 53

5.3 Percentage of students receiving free/reduced price meals..................................................................... 54

5.4 Child care supply versus demand.................................................................................................................... 55

What is the level of preparedness of children entering schools?

5.5 Percentage of Kindergarteners who attended preschool, nursery school or Head Start................. 56

5.6 Percentage of K-12 students with non-English home language ............................................................ 57

What is the level of academic success in school?

5.7 Percentage of 4th and 8th grade students meeting state goal on CMT in reading............................ 58

5.8 Cumulative 4-year drop-out rate for graduating class............................................................................... 59

What are the major challenges for young people as they become adults?

5.9 Percentage of students passing all 4 physical fitness tests.......................................................................... 60

5.10 Teen pregnancy rate (ages 15-17).................................................................................................................. 61

What level of education do we attain?

5.11 Percentage below high school graduate of population 25 years and over........................................ 62

5.12 Percentage with bachelor’s degree or above of population 25 years and over............................... 63

6. Engagement (Civic and Philanthropic) 64

What is our level of civic and philanthropic engagement?

6.1 Percentage of total eligible voters who voted in elections........................................................................ 65

6.2 Philanthropic giving (as collected by COMPASS Household Survey).................................................. 66

6.3 Volunteerism (as collected by COMPASS Household Survey) ............................................................. 66

7. Environment (Natural and Constructed) 67

Is our region a pleasant place to live?

7.1 Air Quality Indicators.......................................................................................................................................... 68

Are cultural attractions, parks, and recreational opportunities available?

7.2 Cultural attraction availability (as collected by COMPASS Household Survey)................................. 69

7.3 Recreational services/facilities availability (as collected by COMPASS Household Survey)........... 69

What are the strengths and weaknesses of our transportation system?

7.4 Commuters driving to work by means other than driving self ............................................................. 70

7.5 Travel time to work (percentage over 30 minutes)...................................................................................... 7