Submitted Photo In 2023, more than 3,200 North Dakotans responded to Community Action Partnership's community needs assessment. The poverty-fighting network has launched a new survey for 2026. Photo from Adobe Stock.

North Dakota’s poverty-fighting network said to have strong support programs, it needs input from community members in all of the state’s counties. The latest needs assessment survey is now available online, giving households a chance to report their top challenges.

The Community Action Partnership of North Dakota works with researchers at North Dakota State University to get the survey out every three years.

Andrea Olson, executive director of the partnership, said since 2020, affordable housing has topped the list, and she does not expect it to change this time around. With pandemic aid long gone, regional offices are getting a lot of calls about rental assistance.

Olson pointed out affected populations include people with fairly stable incomes.

“Those are folks that have jobs. Those are folks that are employed,” Olson said. “But simply don’t make enough money to make all of the ends meet.”

Last year, the state wound down its rent help initiative, funded through federal pandemic-era relief packages. The Legislature did find new dollars for more targeted assistance for housing instability but Olson stressed there is still a major funding cliff. She added it does not mean there is a policy failure but collecting firm data through the survey can move the needle on future support decisions.

Community Action Partnership offices also help struggling households navigate other types of assistance, including child care, home heating costs and food supplies. Olson added a critical aspect of understanding community needs is for people to convey if existing programs are accessible and getting the job done.

“Chiming in on whether or not those programs are helpful, whether or not those programs are useful and should be maintained,” Olson said.

Olson noted respondents can also offer input on what’s missing in the broader effort to elevate households out of poverty. She added the feedback is not only meant for North Dakota’s largest cities like Fargo and Bismarck, noting data will be collected from any state resident 18 and older who wants to weigh in.