Defining “Rural” for the Study on Human Services Programs in Rural Contexts

This study assesses the challenges and opportunities for administering human services programs in rural contexts. How we define “rural” affects how we design and execute the study, what the findings mean, and how they can be applied to policy and practice.

Through a mixed-methods research design, including administrative and secondary data and 12 site visits, the project aims to:

1. Provide a rich description of human services programs in rural contexts.
2. Determine the unmet need for human services in rural communities.
3. Identify opportunities for strengthening the capacity of human services programs to promote the economic and social well-being of individuals, families, and communities in rural contexts.

The study will examine several human services programs administered by the US Department of Health and Human Services, including Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood; Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting; Health Profession Opportunity Grants; and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, as well as programs on early childhood development, family development, employment, and higher education and technical training.

(This report is 5 pages long).

In addition to the nonmetropolitan county designation defined by the Office of Management and Budget, researchers use the US Department of Agriculture Rural-Urban Continuum Codes to categorize nonmetropolitan counties. This criteria further determines "nonmetropolitan" across two additional aspects of rural communities: the size of their urban population and whether they are adjacent to one or more metropolitan areas.

To fully reflect the diversity of rural communities—their distinct histories, cultures, and economic contexts—this study ensures key rural regions are represented in data collection and analyzed thoroughly. These key rural regions include the US Census Regions (Midwest, Northeast, South, and West) and four rural regions commonly defined in federal programs (Appalachia, Colonias, Delta, and Native Lands).

Through categorizing rural counties into six distinct groups and multiple regions, researchers generated a range of rural contexts where human services programs operate that allows us to collect and analyze data. The results will reflect county-level unmet human services needs along with opportunities and challenges of serving residents in different regions of the country, each with unique histories and cultures. These findings can help inform decisions about the future delivery of human services programs in rural contexts.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2021
• Author(s): Elgin, D.; Murdoch, J.; Scally, C.; Hahn, H.
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Katie Mehle
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies