The Womens Foundation of Greater Kansas City

1
(No Transcript)
2
The Womens Foundation of Greater Kansas City

• Voices From the Heart of America Womens
  Concerns, Needs and Priority Issues Study
• 2008 Research Findings

3
The Womens Foundation of Greater Kansas City

• VISION
• Women Girls at their Personal Best
• MISSION
• We raise, invest and grant funds to promote
  equity and opportunity for women and girls.

4
Strategic Initiative Impact Grant Making

• Advance equality for women through integration
  of Grantmaking, research, education, advocacy,
  fundraising, and evaluation
• Ensure our grants focus on identified needs,
  based on our research and in support of our
  mission.
• Conduct research to determine needs of Kansas
  City women and girls.
• Determine our focus based on our research.
• Review and update research as needed, every five
  years.

5
Purpose of Study

• Contribute to the general knowledge about Women
  Girls in our community
• Identify supports and barriers that facilitate or
  hinder Women Girls ability to reach their full
  potential
• Identify critical resources gaps in our
  community
• Involve Key Stakeholders in a discussion about
  Women Girls.
• Create a context for planning action for the
  community the Womens Foundation

6
Central Research Question

• What are the Concerns, Needs Priorities of
  Women as they relate to
• Health
• Education,
• Violence,
• Child Family Welfare,
• Employment Finance and
• Quality of Life.

7
Overview of StudyMultiple Methods

• Focus Group with Experts (N6)
• 62 Participants representing 54 organizations
  participate in FG
• 13 Trained Volunteers conducted the Focus Groups
• Topic Guide
• Audio-Recorded Notes
• Individual Interviews with Program Directors
  (N32)
• 32 Participants representing 32 organizations
  participated in Interviews
• 15 Trained Volunteers conducted the Individual
  Interviews
• Interview Guide (English Spanish)
• Audio-Recorded Notes
• Consumer Surveys (N664)
• 664 Participants identified by 37 organizations
  completed surveys
• 47 Volunteers helped recruit participants
  complete surveys
• Survey Guide (English Spanish)

8
Selection Strategy

• Purposive Selection Strategy
• Snow-Ball Technique
• Identify Study Participants from Community
  Organizations in 8 county area (MO KS).

9
Organizations Participating in the Study (N75)

• Alzheimer's Association Heart of America Chapter
• Amethyst Place
• APOYO
• Autism Society of the Heartland
• Avila University
• Black Health Care Coalition
• Cabot Westside Health Center
• CampFire USA
• CASA of Johnson Wyandotte
• Catholic Charities
• Center for Practical Bioethics
• Child Protection Center of Jackson Co
• Communities Creating Opportunities
• Community Services League
• Cristo Rey
• DeLaSalle Education Center
• Donnelly College
• El Centro
• FDIC

• KU School of Medicine
• KVC Behavioral Healthcare
• Legal Aid of Western Missouri
• MANA De Kansas City
• Maternal Child Health Coalition
• Mattie Rhodes
• Mid America Assistance Coalition
• MOSCA
• NEWHOUSE for Battered Women
• Olathe Parents as Teachers
• Operation Breakthrough
• Planned Parenthood
• PREP KC Learning Exchange
• Project Eagle
• Rose Brooks Center
• SAFEHOME
• Shepherd's Center
• STOP Violence
• SW Boulevard Family Health Center

10
(No Transcript)
11
Quantitative Analysis

• Consumer Survey

12
Most Important CategoryConsumer Survey

• Health 48
• Employment/Finance 16
• Education 12
• Quality of Life 10
• Family Child Welfare 8
• Violence 5

13
Concerns, Needs, PrioritiesConsumer Survey

• Health
• Access to Health Insurance
• Having a Primary Care Provider
• Complexity of Health Care System
• Diseases

• Education
• Access to Educational Opportunities
• Availability of Scholarships/Loans
• Availability of Literacy/GED
• Dropout Prevention

• Employment Finance
• Job Training Retraining
• Access to Long Term Employment
• Transportation
• Sexual Harassment on the Job
• Equal Opportunity Advancement

14
Concerns, Needs, PrioritiesConsumer Survey

• Quality of Life
• Wellness
• Physical Fitness
• Religion
• Arts, Theater, Dance

• Violence
• Domestic Violence
• Child Abuse
• Bullying
• Discrimination
• Racism/Sexism/
• Harassment
• Rape Crisis/Intervention

• Family Child Welfare
• Child/Infant Day Care
• Housing
• Elder Care
• Aging
• Access to Food

15
Qualitative Analysis

• Focus Groups Individual Interviews

16
Data Analysis

• Organizing the Data
• Transcriptions prepared and loaded into Atlas.ti
• Identifying Categories, Themes and Patterns.
• Constant comparative method
• Development of Coding Strategy-Scheme
• Testing Emerging Themes and Alternative
  Explanations.
• Writing the Report.

17
Convergence of Data in 3 areasacross all groups

• Healthcare
• Employment/Finance
• More services to Latina women and girls across
  all areas is needed and documentation issues
  make resource utilization especially challenging

18
Healthcare is a Priority Concern

• In focus groups, individual interviews and survey
  analysis, issues related to healthcare were the
  most consistently documented of any topical area.
• This finding has not changed since the original
  study done in 1992 though the concerns expressed
  today look somewhat different due to
  environmental changes

19
Healthcare Issues Described

• Access to services-many are either going without
  needed services or placed into financial crisis
• Complexity of navigating service system
• Documentation issues present a tremendous
  barrier
• May be able to identify a problem, but cannot
  treat the problem
• Dental Care
• Preventative Services
• Aging related issues

20
Our interviewees talked

• Because we are describing what is an increasing
  gulf between the medical haves and the medical
  have-nots. Most of us see the have-nots. Even
  people who are reasonably comfortable
  economically, but cant either get access to
  health insurance, cant afford to keep the health
  insurance, cant maintain. We all know bunches
  of folks, including some of us, who have fine
  access. I can get what I need, but Ive got an
  employer provided plan that the employer
  maintains the funding for. I mean, Ive got a 32
  year old son who just six months ago for the
  first time got health insurance. Hes been
  employed since he was 19.

21
And talked more

• We are finding that there are red lines
  around some womens issues.whether its
  fertility, or general person issuesall of a
  sudden the insurance doesnt cover and theyre
  not able to manage the co-pay. We found that the
  unexpected life circumstances that so many women
  especially deal with are whats pushing them over
  the edge, right? And thats when everything
  starts to spiral

22
Employment and Finance

• Financial education targeted at low income
  individuals is needed.
• Many women are receiving job training-not career
  education-and these two things are fundamentally
  different in mindset and in practice.
• Information related to credit, credit card debt,
  interest rates, credit scores, and predatory
  lending practices are very important to many
  women and girls, and are not taught consistently
  and routinely by any educational source.
• Information related to the debt to earnings ratio
  of an education needs to be a part of financial
  literacy.
• Documentation issues for self or family are
  driving factors in the ability of Latinas to
  successfully transition to adulthood

23

• Employment Finance (Continued)
• we need service jobs, we need dry cleanersbut
  these should be interim jobs, young kids making
  money in high school kinds of jobs-not career
  choices
•  I taught college, and I would advise young
  womenwhen they would choose a certain field of
  endeavor I would say to them-you need to check
  into that and make sure you can support yourself
  by working in the childcare industry.
• Quote Financial Education is the---the missing
  environment in Kansas City for Women and Girls

24
Family and Child Welfare

• Complexity of accessing services-from knowing the
  resources to managing the use of resources.
  Complexity of resource access was found in all
  topical areas.
• Poverty is an all encompassing problem that is a
  part of the multigenerational nature of problems
  many families face.
• Many have multiple needs for services, creating a
  revolving door related to poverty, mental
  health, substance abuse, lack of vocational
  training
• When we talk about family and child welfare-we
  need to think about aging, too.
• 1992 study found consensus in the areas of child
  care and housing in this area, as well as
  prioritizing education and single parent poverty

25
Our interviewees said

• We are still serving children over here and
  mothers over here and maybe fathers over here and
  were doing substance abuse over here and
  employment over here and mental health over here.
  I mean, everybody tries to be holistic, but the
  resources I think are a challenge because there
  is not a good connection

26

• Family Child Welfare (continued)
• Did you know that over 40 of the food
  distributed in KC goes to kids? The number of
  kids in poverty in our community is alarming. And
  we are seeing that half of these families in
  poverty have somebody working. So these are
  working people. Its not that they are not
  trying to do all these things we are talking
  about. Welfare reform is all about go get a
  job, and basically people did, but the reality
  is that you cant make it on a minimum wage job
  or with no benefits. And the whole issue of the
  kids growing up in poverty, even at 200 of
  poverty, a family cant make it. And I think
  (name of group member withheld) is right-theres
  no out for this. Theres no like go get a job.
  Well-theyve got a job, and no-theyre not
  making it.
• (quote modified to mask identity of focus group
  member)

27
Quality of Life

• Sandwich generation of boomers-until women end
  up alone.
• Respondents in the quality of life focus group
  talked most about what they identified as the
  basics-food, shelter, and healthcare-and issued a
  strong caution about the needs of an aging
  population.
• Quality of life as a category looks different
  today than 15 years ago (where findings were
  related to self esteem, social interaction,
  wellness, religion and the arts)

28
Our interviewees said.

• in terms of quality of lifeI think at the
  young girl level, helping young girls to
  understand what their lives are going to be over
  the lifespan. I mean they will be single for a
  period of time, they are much less likely to be
  married for an extended period of time, and
  likely if they are in a long term marriage, that
  they will have a period of widowhood, which is
  extensive. And so to help women understand that
  their life is going to, youre going to have many
  chapters of your life and you better get ready
  for all of them.

29
Education

• Public imagery related to successful women and
  girls is lacking-or not realistic-and this limits
  girls in what they visualize for themselves.
• Financial Education and career education were
  dominant topics.
• Many Latinas in later teen years are encouraged
  to work for purposes of income generation, not to
  become educated.
• Different from 1992 study in that at that time,
  no consensus was found-called for more funding,
  and the need to develop priorities

30

• Education (Continued)
• some of these challenges can be generational.
  If I look around and see that other older women
  werent educated and they have made it-well, then
  I can probably follow in their footsteps. And
  based on the exposure of what a young lady sees
  while she is growing up, it can determine her
  view of her destiny.

31
Violence

• Trauma associated with violence committed by and
  against women permeates every aspect of life, and
  impacts multiple generations above and below the
  victim.
• Girls are perpetrating violence with increased
  frequency
• Issues associated with many forms of violence are
  as current today as they were 15 years ago, with
  minorities requiring specialized intervention
  approaches

32
Our interviewees said..

• If I think about the thing thats changed in the
  last 15 years, its that girls are tough, really
  tough,and they are fighting with each other, and
  I think its part of the post traumatic stress
  and culture of violence in our society. Girls
  are victims, primarily, but also initiators, and
  they have outbursts towards others and sexual
  harassment of other kids at school.

33
Emergent Themes (inductive analysis)

• Inductive analyses contain the themes or ideas
  that emerged from the data-and dont necessarily
  coincide with the questions.
• Deductive-corresponds closely to what the
  researchers asked for
• Inductive-what we got that didnt directly
  correspond to imposed categories-this is what
  simply came up in the discussions that
  researchers heard repeatedly throughout all
  components of the study

34
Theme 1

• Though progress has been made in many areas,
  access remains a critical issue for women and
  girls

35
Theme 1 Access is a critical issue for women
girls

• Access as a major issue appeared with the most
  density of any topic
• Access issues transcended topic at hand-and
  appeared across all content areas
• How access is defined is important-does it mean
  one has slots available, or does it mean that
  the service is set up in such a way that it helps
  women and girls get to the service, utilize the
  service, and succeed in service receipt?
• Quote from participant Access doesnt mean just
  getting them there, it means being successful
  there
• The complexity of accessing multiple social
  service systems is overwhelming to many
• Documentation issues prohibit many of the
  neediest from receiving help
• Lack of access to healthcare places many on
  precipice of crisis at all times

36
Theme 2

• The financial realities of KC Women and Girls
  dominates their life experiences, and is an area
  that requires targeted attention and interventions

37
Theme 2 Financial realities require targeted
attention and interventions

• Quote I taught college, and I would advise
  young womenwhen they would choose a certain
  field of endeavor I would say to them-you need
  to check into that and make sure you can support
  yourself by working in the childcare industry.
• In the 1992 Study, career education/job training,
  equal pay and equal opportunity for advancement
  were the major findings. Additionally, access to
  credit and transportation were also noted.
• Quote Financial Education is the---the missing
  environment in Kansas City for Women and Girls

38
Theme 3

• Latinas and other minority immigrant populations
  are underserved, and documentation issues present
  special challenges for service providers

39
Theme 3 Latinas/Immigrants present special
challenges

• Quote my thinking is that this issue needs to
  be resolved in this country, that is, when I am
  working in the Latina program, with those who are
  undocumented or daughters of those who are
  undocumented. They dont know what their future
  is going to be-and Im just thinking of children
  and teenagers. Even if we can help them get
  opportunities to get an education, then what is
  the next step for them? Are we giving them false
  hope?
• There is a profound lack of imagery in our
  culture about successful Latinas, and young girls
  are often torn between norms of their (or
  parents) birth country and norms of American
  society.
• While there may be services to help identify
  health issues in the Latina population-but
  treating those problems and applying long term
  solutions is impossible due to documentation
  issues.
• Migrant worker populations have specialized needs
  and require targeted services.
• Lack of fully developed public transportation in
  the metro area is especially problematic for this
  population.

40
Theme 4

• There are multiple points of vulnerability for
  women and girls, and (as a community) we should
  ensure that resources are available at multiple
  points in time across multiple age groups

41
Theme 4 Multiple points of vulnerability for
women girls

• Quote What we have now is a sandwich
  generation of women boomers caring for kids,
  grandkids, and parents-until they end up alone.
• There is a lack of recognition throughout
  society, especially at the policy level, of the
  multiple roles that women play throughout their
  lives.
• The multiple roles that women play impacts every
  area that was examined for this study
  healthcare, family and child welfare, employment
  and finance, violence, quality of life, and
  education.
• Access issues are particularly hard on single
  mothers and elderly women caring for others who
  are functioning as heads of household.
• Quote There are agencies out there that will
  do a lot for people, but not one does anything to
  assist with the big picture-that is, all of these
  components. And so you have to know what the
  resources are, you have to call the resources,
  you have to go to the resources, you have to
  apply, you have toSo, if youre talking to a
  single mother who is on a limited income,
  working, with children, and she comes home and
  takes care of the children in the evening, well,
  then you assume she has someone who can take care
  of those kids while shes out accessing
  resources, and then, if she needs to do something
  on a weekend just forget it, because many of the
  agencies are closed. We often assume she has
  support-and she doesnt.

42
Theme 5

• Positive relational imagery for Women and Girls
  is still missing from popular culture

43
Theme 5 Positive relational imagery still
missing from popular culture

• Relational Imagery refers to imaging, role
  models, and stereotypes in media, popular
  culture, arts, social and educational contexts,
  faith based communities and the like.
• Quote some of these challenges can be
  generational. If I look around and see that other
  older women werent educated and they have made
  it-well, then I can probably follow in their
  footsteps. And based on the exposure of what a
  young lady sees while she is growing up, it can
  determine her view of her destiny.
• Girls need relational images that portray
  accurate, reality based life and achievement-that
  clearly shows them what they need to do to get
  from one place to another.
• Quote I had a girl in my class, and she loved
  animals and wanted to be a veterinarian. But, she
  had no idea of what it took to get there from
  where she was. Someone needs to be showing the
  young girls what the road map looks like to get
  where they want to go. In this case, she hated
  science-but she kept saying she wanted to be a
  vet. Well, we had to talk to her, and say, if you
  want to get there, youve got to work out the
  science issue first.
• The gender gap is closing in some negative
  ways-and girls need models to help them through
  this. Examples of this are increasing violence
  rates among women and increased alcohol and other
  drug use.

44
Theme 6

• Healthcare Issues Remain Dominant

45
Theme 6 Healthcare Issues Remain Dominant

• Access to healthcare
• Healthcare related to reproduction
• Those who are working are also vulnerable
• Precipice for downward spiral
• Caring in the sandwich generation takes a toll
  on caregivers health and finances
• Social Policy is not supportive of multiple roles
  of women, especially related to healthcare topics
• Differences from 1992 study-healthcare was
  biggest issue then as now, health education,
  access to healthcare, domestic violence,
  substance abuse and pregnancy prevention were
  agreed upon by all at that time as priorities

46
Many of the core issues detailed in the 1992
study remain the same.

• Same underlying causes, just further along on the
  spectrum of trying to solve them
• More discussion now of
• Minority populations, 1st generation immigrants
  and
• impact of aging on the population.

47
Principal Investigators Graciela Couchonnal,
Ph.D. and Jody Brook, Ph.D.

• Graciela Couchonnal, Ph.D., Chair
• Alex Couchonnal
• Cathy Hiersteiner, Ph.D
• Gail James, Ph.D
• Mary Ann Meeks
• Jane Mosley, Ph.D
• Beth Noble, Ph.D
• Danae Roberts
• Sandra Sanchez
• Sarah Shouse
• Maria Stecklein
• Linda Hood Talbott, Ph.D
• Teresa Woody

48
Study Volunteers

• Tammy Bearden
• Janet Blake
• Alex Couchonnal
• Duana Dralus
• Becky Fast
• Emily Fish
• Christine Frankovic
• Jennifer Hartung
• Kristen Head
• Elizabeth Henry
• Susan Hill
• Gail James
• Linda Jordan
• Leigh Klein
• Brandy Lang
• Lori Legg
• Meg Marshall

• Mary Ann Meeks
• Michelle Misena
• Brenda Monroe
• Dawn Oliver
• Patt Papenfuhs
• Jamie Rice
• Sandi Sanchez
• Kolette Schneider
• Jarene Stanford
• Maria Stecklein
• Linda Steele
• Betsy Ann Stewart
• Sarah Swirczynski
• Jackie Thomas
• Peg VanWagoner
• Jennifer Wampler
• Many, many more

49

• This research was conducted with support from
  the Beth K. Smith Fund for Research and Results.

50
(No Transcript)