HCP Completes Citizen Awareness Study for Juvenile Welfare Board

CLEARWATER, Fla. (April 29, 2013) The Juvenile Welfare Board Children’s Services Council (JWB) recently commissioned HCP to conduct a telephonic survey of Pinellas County residents. JWB, a property tax-funded organization, invests resources in programs that support the development and well-being of children and families in Pinellas County.

The JWB originally reached out to HCP in 2011, to develop a survey to better understand citizen awareness and perception of the organization as a whole. The 2013 survey repeated some of the 2011 content and surveyed a representative sampling of Pinellas County citizens on top-of-mind familiarity, perceived priority of funded programs, value of programs funded, and select demographic questions.

In the current study, top-of-mind associations between the JWB and funded service areas increased, priority ratings remained very high, and citizen responses indicated placing strong value on the results that the funded programs strive to achieve. The JWB utilizes this information in developing their messaging and broader communications strategies.

The JWB has previously turned to HCP to collect citizen data to aid in making organizational decisions. Most recently, in 2012, HCP measured citizen reaction to an increased millage rate. As a result of citizen support, the JWB slightly raised the rate in an effort to recapture some of the more than $20 million in budget cuts that the organization has lost over the past five years, in large part due to decreased home values.

Senior Research Manager, Sarah Lindemuth commented, “The Juvenile Welfare Board places great value on research as a decision-making tool, and as a way of gauging sentiment from their stakeholders—the citizens of Pinellas County.”

The JWB funds programs that help prepare children for school, and help them become eager and ready to learn, once they are there. The programs also help children and families remain free of abuse and neglect. For more information on the JWB, please visit www.jwbpinellas.org.