Chad Jensen, Chief Executive Officer of New Opportunities, met with the Carroll County Board of Supervisors to provide an overview of the past year and to ask for funding during budget planning for the next fiscal year. Jensen said they are not seeking an increase in the amount of their request.
Jensen said they have served over 200 more people this year than the previous one as of now. He also drew attention to an attachment that detailed there were 803 households, which comprises nearly 1,800 individuals served; adding that, of the clients they are working with, 1.72 percent are dependent on unemployment.
The Women, Infants and Children program served 674 women and their substance abuse program, including their work in prevention, has reached over 2,000 people in Carroll County. He said they are doing much more than just operating a food pantry.
They also offer spaces at the Carroll Community Gardens and work with the Iowa State Extension to teach individuals how to be self-sustaining. Jensen stressed that even though they are a seven-county agency dealing with 84 different funding sources, the money supplied for Carroll County stays in Carroll County. The Board of Supervisors will use the information presented by Jensen to help with developing budgets for the 2016/17 fiscal year, which will begin July 1, 2016.
