Making healthy Lifestyle Choices and Citizen EducationPlan of Work

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Fayette County CES

Title:
Making healthy Lifestyle Choices and Citizen Education
MAP:
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices and Citizen Education
Agents Involved:
Dockery, Doggett, Jordan, Lindsay, Neal, Wells
MAJOR PROGRAM 1:
Faithful Families
MAJOR PROGRAM 2:
Local Food Systems
MAJOR PROGRAM 3:
Business Retention and Expansion
MAJOR PROGRAM 4:
Active Living and Health Promotions General
Situation:

The obesity epidemic threatens the quality of life years of life of Kentuckians. Obese individuals are at increased risk for many chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancers. The obesity rate in Kentucky increased 90% over the last 15 years. Thirty-percent of individuals in the Commonwealth report no leisure-time physical activity. Increased consumption of unhealthy foods, stress, and built environments that promote physical inactivity are largely responsible for the obesity epidemic.

Nutrition education programs, local / home garden, and farmer's markets help families gain access to food and stretch food dollars; communities to decrease hunger; and local food assistance programs to educate recipients on healthy safe food preparation methods, importance of sustainable practices, and improvement of individual/local gardening practices. Citizens receive education on senior issues, parenting and low vision resources. Agents, paraprofessionals, and volunteers are pivotal in training consumers and producers to maximize local access to food products from farm to table.

There are over 9950 children in out of home care, of which 1444 reside in the Southern Bluegrass Region. Substance abuse contributed to 50% of all child abuse and neglect cases. These numbers contribute to the instability of families, communities, social services and economic stability and growth. 

Parenting education programs reduce risk factors that are known to contribute to abuse and neglect. Teaching skills like communicating with respect, nurturing parenting, alternatives to spanking, understanding feelings, conflict resolution, ages and stages of development, praising children and their behavior and other parenting skills aid in prevention and reduction of child and neglect.


Long-Term Outcomes:

Increase in the practice and promotion of physical activity and healthy eating.

Improve access and availability of local foods to the community. Provide education and resource availability regarding senior social issues, low visibility and parenting.

Reduce the number of children placed in out of home care. 

Reduce the numbers of cases for abuse and neglect

Reduce the recidivism rate of cases of abuse and neglect.

Improve nurturing parenting skills.

Intermediate Outcomes:

Practice of physical activity and healthy food choices in families and communities through decreased time of sedentary behaviors, maintaining appropriate calorie intake, and practicing healthy lifestyle decision-making that strengthen individual’s ability to cope with normal life stressors.

Residents will increase practices related to Community and Economic Development by increased participation in job preparedness programs, involvement in local community events, developing new jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities, and adopting fiscally responsible behaviors

Participants will practice nurturing parenting skills with their children.

Participants will have children returned to home. 

Initial Outcomes:

Change in awareness, knowledge, opinions, skills, and attitudes towards parenting, discipline, home management and conflict resolution skills.

The practice and promotion of healthy food and nutrition, financial and mental well-being.

Evaluation:

Outcome:  Long-term Families will be reunited

Indicator:  Participants will use alternative to spanking, which reduces the risk of physical abuse. No new cases of abuse or neglect.

Method:  Self-reported

Timeline:  ongoing


Outcome:  Intermediate: No new cases/allegations of abuse or     

neglect.

Indicator:  Participants will practice using alternatives to spanking, effective communication, conflict resolution and will have appropriate expectations for children. 

Method:  Self-report 

Timeline: ongoing 

Outcome:  Initial: Change in awareness, knowledge, opinions, skills, and attitudes towards parenting, discipline, home management and conflict resolution skills.

Indicator:  Participants will learn to adopt nurturing parenting skills that increase the child’s self-esteem, set age appropriate boundaries and expectations, establish effective communication habits and apply increased knowledge and awareness that was learned.

Method:  Weekly Evaluation/Survey, AAPI 1 and AAPI2

Timeline:  Ongoing


Learning Opportunities:

Audience: Youth

Project or Activity: LEAP

Content or Curriculum: LEAP curriculum

Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Agents, NEP Program assistants, CES Publications

Date: Ongoing


Audience: Adults

Project or Activity: Physical Activity Programs

Content or Curriculum: Matter of Balance Curriculum, Get Moving Kentucky

Input: KY Cooperative Extension Agents, CES publications, Extension Specialist

Dates: Ongoing


Audience: Adults

Project or Activity: Get Fit Fayette County

Content or Curriculum: Various Curriculums

Input, KY Cooperative Extension Agents, public and private health agencies, non-profit organizations

Dates: Ongoing


Audience: Adults

Project or Activity: Kentucky Plate it Up/ Farmer's Market

Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up Curriculum

Input: KY Cooperative Extension Agents, CES publications, KDA, NEP assistants

Dates: Summer, Fall and Spring


Audience:

Project or Activity: Better Bites

Content or Curriculum: Better Bites Curriculum; Social Marketing and Policy Exploratory Pilot Study

Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents, Specialists, Volunteers, CES publications; local, state, and federal agencies.

Date: ongoing


Audience: Adults, Teens & Youth

Project or Activity: Phone calls, e-mails, and office visit customer service opportunities

Content or Curriculum: Available resources through CES publications, specialists, and listed curricula

Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents, Program Assistants, Specialists, Volunteers, CES publications; local, state, and federal agencies.

Date: On-Going


Audience: Youth

Project or Activity: Lexington Drug Free Projects

Content or Curriculum: Health Rocks, Drug prevention

Inputs 4-H Agents, 4-H Assistants, FCS Agents, LFUCG, Police Department

Dates: ongoing


Audience: Teens & Youth

Project or Activity: Cooking/Food & Nutrition

Content or curriculum: 4-H curriculum; FCS curriculum; Plate It Up recipes

Inputs: 4-H Agents,4-H assistants, volunteers

Date: day camps, after-school programs


Audience: Teens & Youth

Project or Activity: 4-H Cooking Club(s)

Content or curriculum: 4-H foods curriculum; FCS curriculum; Plate It Up recipes

Inputs: 4-H Agent, volunteers

Date: monthly club meetings and as requested


Audience: Adult and Youth

Project or Activity: SNAP-Ed/ Double dollars

Content or Curriculum: NEP curriculum, CES Publications

Inputs: EFNEP and SNAP Ed assistants, County Extension Agents

Date: On-Going


Audience: Community residents

Project or Activity: Growing Community program

Content or Curriculum: ID-128

Inputs: Volunteers, collaborating agencies, LFUCG, County agents

Date: Annually in May



Audience: Fayette county School Students

Project or Activity: Agriculture Education for Fayette County School Students.

Content or Curriculum: Teach Students about Agriculture and show where food comes from.

Inputs: Leaders, Agents, Fayette County Schools, Locust Trace School.

Date: Spring and Fall.


Audience: Community Residents & Businesses

Project: Local Foods Committee & Coordinator

Content & Curriculum: Collaborating Agencies, LFUCG, Agents, Specialist

Date: All Year


Audience: Fayette County Schools Administration and Board

Project: School Health and Wellness Policy

Content & curriculum: Collaborating Agencies, Specialist and CES curriculum

Date: Ongoing

Audience: Senior Adults

Projects: Challenges of Aging, Grandparents Raising Relatives, Next Best Years

Content and Curriculum: Collaborating Agencies, Specialists, and CES curriculum

Date: ongoing

Audience: Adults

Projects: Food and Nutrition

Content: Food for Thought, Food Preservation, Adult Cooking, Champion Food Volunteers

Date: Ongoing

Audience: Community residents

Project or Activity: Master gardener projects related to food production

Content or Curriculum: Publications

Inputs: volunteers, specialists, county agents

Date: Ongoing


Audience: Community residents

Project or Activity: Growing Community program

Content or Curriculum: ID-128

Inputs: Volunteers, collaborating agencies, LFUCG, County agents

Date: Annually in May


Audience: Adults

Project or Activity: Farmer's Market/Plate it Up

Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up, KY Department of Ag

Inputs: Cooperative Extension Agent, specialists, KDA, Lexington Farmer's Market

Date: On-going


Audience: Adults, Teens & Youth

Project or Activity: Phone calls, e-mails, and office visit customer service opportunities

Content or Curriculum: Available resources through CES publications, specialists, and listed curricula

Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents, Program Assistants, Specialists, Volunteers, Kentucky CES publications; local, state, and federal agencies.

Date: On-Going

Audience: Adults

Project or Activity: SKY Families Program 

Content or Curriculum: Nurturing Parenting Curriculum

Inputs: Carla Jordan

 Date: 6-week sessions.  Class meets twice per week for 1 hour                 and a half.


Audience: Adults

Project or Activity:  Plate It Up

Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up

 Inputs: EFNEP Assistant

 Date: 5 classes per session




Success Stories

Fayette County 4-H Pumpkin Week

Author: Madalyn Hale

Major Program: Natural Resources

Fayette County 4-H Pumpkin Week

The week of October 26-30, 2020 was Fayette County Extension's Pumpkin Week! This was the first year that we put together a Pumpkin Week. Pumpkin Week was spearheaded by myself and the other 4-H staff, but it was a whole office collaboration to pull it off and get everything together. 4-H provided all of the supplies and I coordinated the activities and materials to be provided. The Horticulture Agent and Technician provided videos about pumpkins and one about floral arranging using pumpkins

Full Story

Gardening Classes on Demand

Author: Jamie Dockery

Major Program: Horticulture, Consumer and Home

Recent COVID related events left many people working from home. The increased time at home and social distancing measures created a new surge of interest in home vegetable gardening and food preservation. In an effort to deliver our information to people in a home setting we had to shift to video classes via Youtube. The horticulture agent and technician began filming short, informative Youtube videos of specific gardening topics.  To date our channel features 100 short videos which have be

Full Story

Gardener's Toolbox goes Virtual

Author: Jamie Dockery

Major Program: Horticulture, Consumer and Home

Recent COVID related events left many people working from home. The increased time at home and social distancing measures created a new surge of interest in home vegetable gardening and food preservation. In an effort to deliver our information to people in a home setting we had to shift to video classes via Youtube. The horticulture agent and technician began filming entire classes for our Gardener's Toolbox series.  In the past year our Toolbox class videos have reached over 2808 &nbs

Full Story

Digital Estate Planning

Author: Diana Doggett

Major Program: Financial Education - General

In the modern age of technology, the nature of estate planning has changed. Because so much personal information is stored online, new strategies must be undertaken in order to protect one’s digital assets. Digital estate planning helps loved ones to locate and access important digital information, it may clarify disputes regarding final will and testament, and it may simplify the transition for family members.   Fayette Co. Extension FCS partnered with Bluegrass Elder Law to present

Full Story

Grandparents and Relatives As Parents

Author: Diana Doggett

Major Program: Family Development General

Kentucky has the highest rate of child abuse and neglect in the nation and ranked 5th for the number of children in care of grandparents.  Approximately 44,000 are living in homes led by grandparents (datacenter.kidscount.org/data).  Caregivers face many challenges as they strive to develop healthy relationships with children who have experienced significant loss, pain and disappointment. The needs of children can be overwhelming and COVID 19 generated isolation and limited access to r

Full Story

Teaching Life Skills

Author: Jamie Dockery

Major Program: Food Preparation and Preservation

When the pandemic struck, Fayette County Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education assistant Jacqui Denegri and horticulture agent Jamie Dockery had to quickly redesign their summer gardening/cooking series for students with Down Syndrome. They had to take the entire program online. Families picked up garden packets Dockery made for them,that gave them the things they needed to grow tomatoes and peppers in their own yards. During the weekly sessions, he would answer questions they had

Full Story
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