...news release...

Kentucky
Long-Term Policy Research Center
111 St. James Court, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-8486
(Telephone: 502-564-2851 6Fax: 502-564-1412 8E-Mail: ltprc@lrc.state.ky.us

www.kltprc.net

Center Report Assesses Progress, Gauges Public Opinion on 26 Goals for Kentucky’s Future

FRANKFORT, KY (June 21, 2002) — The Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center released today the fourth in its series of biennial reports on the Commonwealth’s progress toward realization of 26 long-term goals. Visioning Kentucky’s Future: Measures and Milestones 2002 assesses state progress on multiple benchmarks for each of 26 goals, comparing state data, much of it new, with that for the nation and other states. The report also contains the results of a public opinion survey that asked Kentuckians to assess the state’s progress on each goal and identify goals they believe are most important for the future. The third in a series of these statewide polls, the report also tracks shifts in public opinion about progress on goals and public priorities.

Figure 1:  Citizen Assessment of Kentucky's Overall Progress, 2002

The report’s measures of progress include data gathered from participating state agencies and statewide surveys conducted by the University of Kentucky (UK) Survey Research Center, as well as Center analyses of U.S. Census Bureau data. These data show how Kentucky has fared over time and/or relative to the nation or surrounding states. New data in the report cover an array of issues such as school safety, social capital, poverty, Internet access, entrepreneurism, and satisfaction with child and elder care, among other things.

Kentuckians, the Center found, believe the state is making progress toward most of the 26 long-term goals. While citizens saw the state as “losing ground” on at least 5 of the goals in past years when given the choice between “making progress,” “standing still,” or “losing ground,” only three goals still remain in that category:

1. provide access to affordable, high-quality health care for all;

2. end poverty and alleviate its consequences; and

3. establish a fair, competitive, and responsible fiscal, tax, and regulatory structure.

Measures of overall citizen opinion also indicated increased optimism about the state’s progress. The average portion of respondents who indicated that Kentucky is losing ground on each of the 26 goals declined from approximately 25 and 26 percent in survey years 1998 and 2000, respectively, to a low of 19 percent for 2002.

Top Citizen Priorities. As in years past, the Center asked citizens to list the three goals they consider the most important to Kentucky’s future. The priorities of Kentuckians changed somewhat in the wake of September 11. In general, goals addressing more immediate concerns, such as those of family, community, health care, and education, ranked relatively highly. The more remote the issue from the immediate well-being of family and community, such as the global economy or arts opportunities, however, the lower its current level of importance in the eyes of Kentuckians.

Citizens cited the goal of safe and caring communities as the most important for the future in 2002. For the first time, responsibility for family success made its way into the top three most important goals since the Center began the survey. The most important goal for the future in 2000—accessible, quality health care—was a close third in 2002. For the first time, an excellent system of lifelong learning slipped out of the top three to fourth place, perhaps reflecting a waning of urgency as education reforms take hold. The most apparent shift in priorities was seen in the ascendancy of the goal of responsibility for family success, which moved from 13th most important in 2000 to 2nd most important in 2002. The shift may be linked to such factors as the increased caregiving responsibilities that have come with an aging population, the consequences of welfare reform, the widely felt impact of family disintegration, and the volume of political rhetoric dedicated to these and other related topics.

Similarities in attitudes over the years can be seen mostly in those goals that lie at the extremes of the two rankings. That is, Goal 12—arts opportunities—has consistently ranked 26th in importance, while remaining at or near the top in perceived progress. Goal 4—accessible, quality health care—consistently ranks last in perceived progress, but at or near the top in importance.

Table 1:  The Top 3 Goals Ranked by Progress and Importance

First launched in 1994, the Visioning Kentucky’s Future project sought broad citizen input into the development of a vision statement for the future of the state. Based on citizen comments at 15 public forums held around the state and numerous mailings, the vision emerged as one of a state with vibrant, nurturing communities; lifelong, quality educational opportunities; a sustainable, prosperous economy; a clean, beautiful environment; and honest, participatory government at all levels. The goals and benchmarks to measure progress on them were developed subsequently and reviewed widely.

The 1998, 2000, and 2002 public opinion surveys were conducted by the UK Survey Research Center. For the 2002 survey, surveys were mailed between August and October 2001; 773 eligible responses were received. The overall rankings of goals were generated by assigning numerical values to responses: each goal that citizens said the state is “making progress” on was assigned a +1 value; for those goals that citizens said the state is “losing ground” on a value of –1 was assigned. No value was assigned to “standing still” responses. To evaluate overall importance, the goals that citizens ranked as most important were assigned a value of 3 points while the second and third highest ranked goals were assigned values of 2 points and 1 point, respectively.

Copies of the report are free upon request while they are available. To request a copy of Visioning Kentucky’s Future: Measures and Milestones 2002, contact the Center by mail at 111 St. James Court, Frankfort, KY 40601; by phone at 502-564-2851 or 800-853-2851; by fax at 502-564-1412 or 800-383-1412; or by e-mail at ltprc@lrc.state.ky.us. The full report is also available online.