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United Way presents 'Stronger Together' roadmap, highlights ALICE and housing, child care strains in Johnson County
Summary
United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties presented its Stronger Together Community Roadmap and related needs assessment to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, highlighting that about 41% of local residents fall into the ALICE category and identifying housing affordability, child-care costs and food insecurity as top priorities.
United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties outlined a community needs assessment and a new Stronger Together Community Roadmap during the Johnson County Board of Supervisors work session on Aug. 20, 2025. Emily Meister, a United Way representative, summarized the coalition-driven review of datasets and stakeholder work groups that produced the roadmap and the agency's recommended next steps.
Meister said United Way organizes work around four focus areas — financial security, youth opportunity, health and community resiliency — and funds 28 partner agencies while supporting many more collaborators. She described the assessment process as a year-long effort that used existing local datasets and community "data walks," partnered with Common Good Iowa for analysis, and convened sector-led work groups to identify gaps and priorities.
The presentation contained a series of headline data points the organization emphasized: United Way’s analysis categorizes about 41% of the local population as ALICE (asset limited, income constrained, employed), which the presenter said corresponds to roughly 73,000 people; 31% of households were reported as paying 30% or more of income on rent; and some families face extreme child-care costs (presenter cited roughly $16,000–$17,000 per year for infant care). Meister said these figures combine Johnson and Washington counties and are summarized in a 50-plus page assessment available on United Way’s website.
On housing, Meister said United Way’s role is to map existing provider work, elevate permanent supportive housing and encourage more landlords to accept housing vouchers. She described options such as incentive programs for landlords used in other Iowa communities and said United Way will support local housing coalitions rather than supplant existing providers.
On youth opportunity, the presenter noted disparities by disability status and rural location despite the county’s overall strong graduation rates; United Way plans coalition-driven supports to address those gaps. For food security, Meister said 39% of people who self-identify as food-insecure do not qualify for SNAP, increasing reliance on local food pantries and grassroots networks. Under community resiliency, United Way highlighted efforts to strengthen the Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) and to improve the 211 resource directory with University of Iowa partners.
Supervisors asked about data coverage and next steps. Board members were told the assessment includes all school districts in Johnson and Washington counties, coalition mapping is finished and staff expect some work groups to be standing or active by the end of the year. Supervisors expressed particular interest in strategies to increase uptake of housing choice vouchers and asked United Way to bring potential landlord-incentive models back for review.
Meister and the board agreed that United Way will open its partner application process before the next funding cycle and that the roadmap will be an ongoing, updated resource rather than a static report. The county’s supervisors offered general support and pledged to stay involved in coalition and funding discussions going forward.
