Executive Summary

The LIFE – Local Indicators for Excellence – Executive Committee is excited to share the 2023 LIFE Report with the Portage County community. The report is a compilation of community input, objective data, and stakeholder prioritization. We hope you will take the time to learn about the process, review the findings, and advocate in support of the calls-to-action. The path to this report began in April of 2021 with a meeting of representatives from Ascension (which transitioned to Aspirus Health in August 2021), Aspirus Health, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, Portage County Health and Human Services, and United Way of Portage County (LIFE Report Hosting Agent). The LIFE Report process has traditionally been conducted in Portage County every five years, with reports issued in 2017, 2012, and 2007. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic was still impacting community members and services. The Executive Committee knew the importance of launching the process to better understand the impact of the pandemic and the current challenges facing the Portage County community.

Purpose

1. To identify community calls-to-action through a needs assessment process that involves community stakeholders and to document the results in the Local Indicators for Excellence (LIFE) Report.

2. To identify community strengths, challenges, and priorities that help guide and mobilize action to improve life in Portage County for all.

Behavioral Health

Key Action Areas:

• Reducing alcohol and other drug use
• Improving youth mental health
• Increasing access and affordability of services
• Implementing prevention initiatives and addressing basic needs as a prevention avenue

Early Childhood Care & Education

Key Action Areas:

• Increasing high-quality childcare
• Ensuring a skilled childcare workforce
• Increasing accessibility and affordability
• Changing policies to improve identified childcare issues

Housing & Shelter

Key Action Areas:

• Increasing affordability, availability, and accessibility
• Ensuring high-quality housing
• Increasing temporary and transitional housing
• Improving government regulations and policies to address issues
• Increasing resident knowledge about housing topics

Next Steps

Portage County has strengths it can look to. Post-secondary education, the use and care of land, water, and air, as well as improvements that have occurred in hunger, were viewed more positively. One approach might be to examine why progress has been made in these areas and seek to apply similar strategies to the current calls-to-action. Another approach to capitalizing on these strengths might be to find their intersections with the calls-to-action and use the overlapping issues as a springboard to make improvements in the calls-to-action. Whichever approach is selected, community stakeholders are encouraged to use this report for decision-making, economic development, priority setting, program development, monetary allocations, and grant writing. There are many avenues that one can take after reading this report, but one thing we hope you will do is take action. This report is just a stepping-stone on a journey to improve the well-being of the Portage County community and everyone who calls it home.

More information that is kept current can be found on the newly released Portage County Conduit site (PCConduit.org), which is a free and easy-to-use publicly available website that serves as a warehouse for current data on local, state, and national indicators. Links to standalone reports are also housed there and include the 2023 LIFE Report, the ALICE Report, CAP Services Community Needs Assessment, and other local community-centered documents.

The LIFE Report is an excellent tool to empower local leaders and other citizens to collaborate to improve the quality of life for all in Portage County.

Grab a Print Version of the Report

You can pick up a printed version of the report at our office located at 2801 Hoover Road Unit 2, Stevens Point, WI.

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Contact our office at 715-341-6740.