For over 100 years, Colorado State University Extension has provided workshops, information, & other educational resources to Larimer County residents.
We also take Larimer County’s guiding principle to be “good stewards of public resources” seriously. With this guiding principle in mind, we conducted a county-wide needs assessment from 2020-2021.
The needs assessment consisted of a review of existing data, interviews, & a survey. Results were used to create a list of issues important to Larimer County residents. Extension staff then revised that list to issues for which our programs could make a difference. This allowed us to prioritize our resources to have the most impact with the public funds we receive.
The following pages summarize what we learned through the community needs assessment & our next steps.
Community Needs
Priority issues arising from our review of secondary data, interviews with key informants, & a community survey included:
- Choosing sustainable landscapes
- Developing youth life skills
- Emergency preparedness
- Food handling/safety practices/certifications
- Healthy food preparation/cooking
- Helping communities cope with rapid growth
- Managing & maintaining trees/yards/landscapes
- Mental health/stress management for youth
- Mental health/stress management/suicide prevention
- Personal/family financial management & planning
- Physical activity & health
- Supporting local food production & distribution
- Supporting nonprofit & issue-based organizations
- Sustainable energy
- Water quality
Community Makeup – Demographics
Self-Identified Ethnic Minorities:
- Larimer County: 10.8%
- State: 20.8%
Unemployment Rate:
- Larimer County 5.5%
- State: 6.4%
Median Age:
- Larimer County: 35.9
- State: 36.6
Median Income:
- Larimer County: $72,227
- State: $73,219
Population in Poverty:
- Larimer County: 5.7%
- State: 7.2%
College Degree:
- Larimer County: 45.1%
- State: 38.8%
Larimer County Extension Top Priorities
Household, Family, & Finances:
Targeted for Expanded Focus:
- Emergency preparedness
- Personal financial management
- Support for the aging, resources, & caregivers
Covered by current programs:
- Radon mitigation & healthy homes
- Support for grandparents raising grandchildren
Health & Wellbeing
Targeted for Expanded Focus:
- Physical health & exercise
- Nutrition & healthy cooking
- Mental health & stress management
Youth Development:
Targeted for Expanded Focus:
- Mental health & stress management for youth
- Developing youth life & leadership skills
- Prepping students for college & career
Food & Agriculture
Targeted for Expanded Focus:
- Food handling & safety practices
Covered by current programs:
- Supporting local food productions & distribution
- Supporting new farmers
- Hobby farm & ranch land management
Community Support
Targeted for Expanded Focus:
- Increase access to CSU resources*
- Support non-profits & coalitions*
*These two goals were incorporated into outreach/ marketing in tier 1.
TBD – Next tier, need info, community partners working on:
- Foster connections between rural & urban
- Facilitating difficult conversations
Natural Resources & Environment
TBD – Next tier, need info, community partners working on:
- Water quality & conservation
- Sustainable energy
Yard, Property, & Land Management
Covered by current programs:
- Maintaining trees, gardens, & landscapes
- Outdoor pests & insects
- Small acreage management
TBD – Next tier, need info, community partners working on:
- Composting
Moving Forward with Community Needs
Since the time the community needs assessment was conducted, we have committed additional staff resources to:
- Provide food safety training for restaurant & food establishment employees
- Help Spanish-speaking students prepare for college & careers
- Increase access to local food
- Expand programming for older adults
To ensure that we stay current with changing community needs, Larimer County Extension has:
- Increased our collaboration with community partners
- Held input sessions with town boards & rural residents
- Expanded & reinvigorated our advisory committee
- Conducted additional surveys of target audiences
- Enhanced efforts to evaluate our programming
We will consider another formal community needs assessment in the future.
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E-newsletter
Thank you to the following for playing a crucial role in this Community Needs Assessment process:
- Kerri Rollins
- Alison O’Connor
- Amber Webb
- Andy Weakland
- Bailey Schilling
- Emily Alligood
- Karen Crumbaker
- Kathy Mason
- Katie Daywalker
- Lisa Auer
- Pam Heeney
- Paula Petroff
- Sue Schneider
- Toby Swaford
- CSU Institute for Research in Social Sciences
- Larimer County Extension Advisory Board
- Larimer County Performance Improvement Team
