Partnerships for Success
Columbiana County Highlights

Voices of Columbiana County Heard
Loud and Clear at the County Fair

Columbiana County Family and Children First Council was able to hear the voices of the community at the 2003 Columbiana County Fair. A pick-a-prize giveaway was set up to encourage fair goers to come in and give their opinions. Youth were asked to identify one thing they would change about school if they could while adults were asked to identify the top problem faced by youth in the county. Over 600 responses were logged. A summary of these responses follows:

• A primary issue identified by the adults is the lack of positive activities that youth may be involved in.
   

• A primary issue identified by the youth in regard to the school environment seems to be a lack of a caring school environment as evidenced by the responses that included too much homework, teachers who don’t care and are mean, and poor quality of food in the cafeteria. This demonstrates the need to increase communication and improve the relationships between educators and youth.
   

• The responses from the adult survey show the need to address the risk factors of family management problems and community laws and norms favorable toward drug use, firearms, and crime as these were connected to the majority of responses.
   

• A summary of the adult responses shows that the majority of those polled feel the community needs to take a larger role in addressing issues related to youth.

All participants, regardless of age, wanted to discuss the topics at length. The result was by the end of the week the Family Council staff all had sore throats from so much talking, but the overwhelming community response was worth it. The number of responses received versus the amount of effort expended makes this a very effective way to assess a broad range of residents and we would highly recommend it to other counties as they try to hear and record their communities’ voices.

Contact Information

Karen Arbogast, FCFC Coordinator

Columbiana County FCF Council
P.O. Box 315
27 Vista Dr.
Lisbon, OH  44432
Phone (330) 424-0195
Fax: (330) 424-8033
karbogast@ccmhrsb.org