Community Assessment

This report is based on observations made by the Community Assessment Team (CAT) during its visit to Tuscola County in December 2005. The CAT process began with an application from members of the community to MSU Extension. The application described the community’s situation and listed questions that community members wanted the CAT to address. The application was reviewed by the CAT advisory committee. The CAT then sent a small delegation to meet with the application committee to clarify questions raised in the application and recruited team members with skills appropriate to the community’s needs. The full CAT visit involved two days of input gathering from a variety of small and large meetings with residents and tours of the community. The team then analyzed, debated and categorized the information to produce a preliminary verbal report to the community. Finally, the team reflected on its preliminary recommendations and wrote the final report (this document). The community is invited to receive a follow-up visit about six months after the issuance of this report.