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Issues in El Paso County
The Texas Community Futures Forum is a statewide needs assessment launched in 1999 and again in 2004 by Texas Cooperative Extension.
Every county in the State of Texas was involved in this process to identify and prioritize local issues of importance and compile them statewide.
In El Paso, the event was hosted by Ysleta ISD with a series of people representing various areas of interest and facilitated by the El Paso County office staff of Texas Cooperative Extension.
A number of individual issues were offered during this process and will help to shape Extension programs in El Paso for the coming years.
Based on the input we received from participants, the top five priority issues that were identified were the following:
Economic Development
Economic development included issues related to expanding the job base with emphasis on the promotion of higher paying jobs rather than minimum wage jobs.
Other issues included the need for new industry and increasing the tax base for the community.
Improvement in the economy and quality of life in El Paso was an issue with a number of approaches provided that included both expansion of business and managed growth.
The goal is for public and private organizations to organize in a manner that encourages a positive climate for economic development through business development, improved enhancements in the community that elevate the quality of life, and a better educated workforce to support higher paying jobs in the next 20 years.
Health Care
The issue of health care is broad and complex.
It included issues associated with access to health care, funding for CHIP, health care for children, adults, elderly, and special populations such as those involving mental health.
Funding and access for MHMR/SA services were also mentioned along with the need for prevention education and health education.
Through prevention education, Extension will work to reduce the incidence of disease and promote healthy lifestyles.
Extension will also support stronger community partnerships to support the larger goals of a healthier community and an improved quality of life.
Water
Water was identified as an issue to critical to our region and as broad as it is controversial.
Specific issues related to water included quality, quantity, development of new sources, reuse, and conservation strategies.
The long-term goal for Water is to assure a safe, plentiful, and high quality water supply through new, improved sources of water, conservation, and reuse strategies, to ensure a high quality of life.
Through short term goals, implement programs to promote conservation in all commercial and home landscape applications, reducing water use by 10%.
Provide support for reuse through wastewater treatment programs, leading to an additional measure of savings from reduced potable water used to irrigate landscapes.
Education
Education was proposed as an issue encompassing both formal and non-formal methods.
It included traditional K-12 and higher educational opportunities, but also specified the need to continue building upon outreach education that encourages healthy youth development and continuing educational opportunities for adults from all backgrounds.
Funding and access were two specific components of education that were considered high priority.
The long-term goal for Education is to increase the quality of education and the educational opportunities for the youth and adults of all ages in El Paso through a more integrated educational service delivery network by the Year 2020.
This goal will be pursued through shorter term goals that mobilize educational providers throughout the community to improve and increase educational opportunities and continue to develop the synergistic development and delivery of educational opportunities.
Recreation & Activities for Youth
There was broad recognition for the need for positive, healthy activities for the youth of the community, including but not limited to increased funding for extracurricular youth programs and expanded physical facilities/infrastructure to support youth recreation/activity (such as gyms and recreation centers).
The goals for this issue includes the need for public and private organizations to organize in a manner that encourages cooperation and increased efficiency in the development and delivery of programs and services that benefit the youth of ou community.
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