Community Needs Assessment

The 2017 Community Needs Assessment identifies major needs in the community through survey data, secondary data, and focus groups.

With the help of Penn State Harrisburg's Institute of State and Regional Affairs, United Way of Lebanon County conducted a community-wide Community Needs Assessment in the spring and summer of 2017. The goal of this initiative was to understand the demographic makeup, unmet needs, utilization of services, and barriers to receiving services for those living in Lebanon County. The research team completed four major elements as part of the community needs assessment: secondary data analysis, focus groups, a community survey, and a Community Conversation.

This project culminated in an Executive Summary Report, which was released in the fall of 2017.

Some standout findings include:

• 14.3% of Lebanon County residents do not have a high school diploma
• 43.9% of children in Lebanon County and 54.7% of children in Lebanon City live in non-self-sufficient households
• 28.2% of Lebanon County residents live in unaffordable housing situations
• The top five unmet needs as reported by survey respondents are dental insurance, dental care, finding a job, health insurance, and transportation
• 17.4% of survey respondents said they or someone in their household had experienced sexual violence
• Lebanon County has twice the percentage of uninsured children as compared to the state of Pennsylvania

Click here to read or download the full Community Needs Assessment Executive Report.

This project was made possible by the dedication of many individuals from Penn State Harrisburg and United Way of Lebanon County.