Introduction
I. Acknowledgements
The Community Assessment Team (CAT) presents to you the second edition of Cortland Counts: An Assessment of the Health and Well Being in Cortland County – July 2005, also known simply as Cortland Counts. In 2000, the CAT envisioned a common set of community goals, cutting across the diverse missions of our many service systems, to allow for more comprehensive long term planning geared to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Cortland County.
Without the CAT's vision, guidance, and perseverance, this document -- which chronicles this community planning -- would not be possible. Many people contributed their time and effort to this update of Cortland Counts. Thanks especially to the directors of all the organizations and agencies who responded to our requests and to the community leaders who served as key informants. Both groups responded to the Community Assessment Team surveys and other requests for information that so richly informs this study.
Community Assessment Team (CAT)
- Jackie Carlton -- Seven Valleys Health Coalition, Inc. (SVHC)
- Brian Mitteer -- Cortland Memorial Hospital
- Cindy Eberhart -- United Way for Cortland County, Inc
- Jackie Gailor -- Cortland County Health Department
- Craig Little, Richard Kendrick, Calvin Barrett, and John Suarez, all of COPC, (the Community Outreach Partnership Center and New Directions; the two grants to SUNY Cortland from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
Staff
- Andrea Rankin, Consultant and Lead Investigator
- Christella Yonta, Project Coordinator, Seven Valleys Health Coalition
- Casey Greeno, Research Assistant, SUNY Cortland Graduate Student
- Ruth Grunberg, Volunteer Research Assistant, Graphics and Typography
- Dr. Richard Kendrick, SUNY Cortland Sociology/Anthropology Department Chair and his students in Methods of Social Research II
Funding
All members of the Community Assessment Team contribute resources to the Cortland Counts process. The Seven Valleys Health Coalition (SVHC), through its Rural Health Network Development Grant, provides the major funding for the research, publication and web site maintenance for Cortland Counts every five years and the community Report Card annually. The SVHC is one of thirty-two rural health networks funded by the NYS Department of Health Office of Rural Health.
Focus Groups
- Head Start parents
- Senior citizens
- Teens at the Youth Center
- Neighbors in Cortland’s East End
- Cortland residents with disabilities
- Elected officials
- Labor union leaders
- Survivors of domestic violence/teen moms
- Art/culture/tourism/recreation
The Community
- Dan Dineen and Tricia Saulnier of the Cortland County Planning Department
- Linda Dickerson Hartsock and the Business Development Corporation
- Linda Medeiros, Cortland County Mental Health
- Chief James Nichols, Cortland City Police Department
- Kristen Monroe, Cortland County Dept. Social Services
- Carol Deloff, Cortland Area Agency on Aging
- Mary Beilby, ACCESS To Independence
- Trudy Glendening, CAPCO Head Start
- Rita Wright, Aid to Victims of Violence, YWCA
- Ron Powell, Workers Rights Board
Outside Readers
- Manny Lann, Cortland County Youth Bureau
- Karen Mastronardi, Prevention Services for Youth
- Dan Dineen, Cortland County Planning Department
- Kathleen Taverone, Habitat For Humanity
- Jeanette Dippo, SUNY Cortland Health Department
- Linda Medeiros, Cortland County Mental Health
- Linda Dickerson Hartsock, Business Development Corporation
- Amy Henderson Harr, SUNY Cortland Sponsored Programs
- Ann Hotchkin, Thoma Development
- JoAnn Wickman, Cortland Area Communities that Care
- Robin Sandwick, Director of Cortland County Employment and Training
- Jane Richards, former county legislator, SUNY faculty member