Residents of Monmouth County face many of the same challenges as other American communities: an aging population, high rents, substance addiction, mental illness, homelessness, food insecurity, lack of affordable childcare and insufficient transportation resources.
In 2016, Monmouth County engaged JANUS Solutions to conduct a Human Services Needs Assessment: a formal look at Monmouth County’s current needs and how resources met – or didn’t meet – those needs. Drawing upon extensive data sources and the voices of more than 1,100 residents, and led by a steering committee of community stakeholders and public officials, the Needs Assessment was meant to offer a roadmap for improvement to serve all County residents more effectively.
Check out the Monmouth County Human Services Needs Assessment:
Read the summary here, or the full report here.
The Needs Assessment found 3 main issues:
- County service providers don’t always collaborate to offer comprehensive services to residents
- Many residents are not aware of the services available
- Opportunities exist for innovative strategies to better reach and serve residents
As a result of the findings, the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners created Monmouth ACTS (Assisting Communities Through Service) in 2018 to address these issues.
Monmouth ACTS is designed to be an innovative public-private partnership between Monmouth County government and their counterparts in the private sector serve residents better, together.
Goals of Monmouth ACTS
- To help residents learn about the many public and private services that are available – and how to access them
- To provide a more seamless approach to human services by joining strengths and eliminating duplications in public/private programs
- To create working groups, called Hubs, to address seven key issues identified by the Needs Assessment
- To continue identifying and developing solutions to Monmouth County resident challenges
- To grow the network and widen the reach of Monmouth ACTS and coordinate with evolving place-based efforts
Monmouth ACTS formed “Hubs” around the different phases of life. Each Hub meets to identify opportunities, discuss collaboration efforts and make recommendations:
- Early Childhood Success
- Positive Youth Development
- Transitioning to Adulthood
- Productive Adulthood
- Successful Aging
Monmouth ACTS streamlined services for residents, made meaningful connections and addressed unmet needs, even through the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020.
The initiative has constantly adapted over the years to better serve Monmouth County residents. In 2022, the Monmouth ACTS initiative renewed its commitment to resident feedback and making sure community members informed all planning, implementation and evaluation. In 2024, the Board of County Commissioners formally made Monmouth ACTS an integral part of the Department of Health & Human Services, by renaming the Division of Planning and Contracting to the Office of Monmouth ACTS, ensuring that the spirit of the Monmouth ACTS initiative would inform the funding priorities, programming and culture in the Department.