The United Way of Butler County hired the Kunz Center for the Study of Work and Family at the University of Cincinnati to conduct a phone survey of residents of Butler County.  The goals of the study were to determine the familial and community needs of residents in Butler County, determine what services were being utilized, and elicit suggestions that would improve life in Butler County.

The phone survey was administered in September-October of 2001 and took approximately three minutes to complete; 332 respondents completed the survey for an effective response rate of 32.2%

The typical respondent to the survey was a white female, married, and 45 years old.  The typical family was a married couple with at least one child.  Of the families with children, most had children between the ages of 6 and 12.  The majority (84%) of respondents had middle- or upper incomes (i.e., above $25,000).

77% of respondents reported some issue within their family that causes them to worry about their well-being.  The most important concerns were financial worries, the health of their families, crime and safety, and the education and behavior of children.  Older people are more worried about health issues, parents are more worried about children, and upper-income respondents are worried about crime and safety issues.

62% of respondents reported a concern with the state of their community.  The most important issues facing the Butler county community were economic inequality, crime and safety, and community expansion.  Concern about these issues was uniform across categories of gender, marital status, parental status, race, etc.  One exception is that as family income rises, concerns about community expansion grow. 

When asked what programs they could think of that could help them with these issues only 29% of the respondents could think of programs.  Of the 90 people who could name a social program, only 29 respondents actually used it. 

53% of respondents made a suggestion for implementing a program that would aid them or their families.  The most popular suggestions were programs aimed at children or schools, programs for adults, or initiatives to help the county as a whole.