INTRODUCTION

The West Piedmont Planning District, one of twenty-one planning districts in the Commonwealth of Virginia is comprised of the Counties of Franklin, Henry, Patrick and Pittsylvania and the Cities of Danville and Martinsville. These localities--with the exception of Martinsville--participate in the West Piedmont Disability Services Board. West Piedmont Disability Services Board is one of the five boards in the Southern Region of Disability Services Boards.

Each jurisdiction has assigned members to the board and several new members have recently joined us. There are 2 members with physical disabilities which require the use of wheelchairs for mobility, 5 government assigned representatives, 1 member with a severe visual impairment, other members have family members with physical disabilities (including hearing impairments). We feel that the Board is a good representation of it's area and some typical issues involved in planning the meetings to accommodate our own members has raised awareness within the governing bodies of each area. The region includes approximately 2,600 square miles and has a 1993 population of

241,300 (including Martinsville with a 1990 population of 16,000). Disability Census data from 1990 include 14,901 persons reporting a disability including 1,033 persons in Martinsville. Our DSB should not really exclude the numbers for Martinsville as we do serve these residents through the incentive fund grant as well as a referral source for the public in general.

West Piedmont Disability Services Board serves both rural and urban areas which make our needs sometimes more diverse. Although some characteristics are not unique to our area, these issues make reaching and serving the populous a greater challenge.

The following issues are an overall concern for our Planning District:

• Past surveys and documents from our local planning departments have shown that the West Piedmont Planning District's population grew at a slower rate than that of the state from 1970 to 1980 (9.95% versus 15.02%). According to the Census Bureau, this trend continued for the period from 1980 to 1990 (-0.9% versus 15.7%). Just comparing 1990 data to the 1993 data in this report, population has dropped by about 3,000 persons overall. Other significant characteristics of the population are:
• Population is greater than 25% non white
• The working age group (20-64 years old) increased from 57% of the District's total population in 1980 to 59% in 1990. As a result, the median age also increased and was higher in all WPPD localities than the state's figure in 1990.
• The educational attainment of the District population was considerable less than the statewide averages in 1990. Although both the percentage of persons with a high school education or higher and a bachelor's degree or higher increased in the District, the figures for all WPPD localities was still less, in each case, than the state's percentage.
• Although the District's per capita, median family and household incomes have increased greatly in recent years, the levels are still significantly lower than the statewide medians.
• The Districts unemployment rate has been consistently higher than the state and national rates since 1985
• According the 1980 Census, more than 18.5% of the District's workers commute out of the Planning District for work, while only 8.1% of the work force drive into the District from elsewhere each day for work.

Our Board has been active and worked to bring opportunities to our population. The West Piedmont Disability Services Board has been the recipient of two incentive grants from the Rehabilitative Services Incentive Fund. Both have centered around transportation as the most focal need of our communities. The grant for FY 98 will provide funds to hire a coordinator for Franklin, Patrick, Henry and Pittsylvania Counties to try and look at the transportation services available and increase collaboration among service agencies with existing vehicles. Additionally funds will be used to provide direct transportation for persons in Martinsville/Henry County. Our Board, in partnership with the Southern Regional Disabilities Services Boards, collaborated to present a Forum on Transportation. The purpose was to look at problems, identify solutions and share information.

Our chairperson is participating in a pilot program with several other DSBs. This incentive provides for a computer, technical resources and networking to assist and enhance DSB services. We have developed our own website with information about the Board, our purpose, recent minutes from our meetings for review and other information as well as the ability to send for more information or ask questions via Internet access. The West Piedmont Disability Services Board has been working to fulfill its responsibilities to reach our population in need, as well as educating our government leaders.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page