Author: Tyrone Atkinson
Major Program: Family Development General
The CYFAR Uplift Project has gained momentum in Year 4 of the grant project. Kentucky State University Extension professionals collaborated on the grant in both grant site locations to help build strong relationships with community partners and co-facilitated all programming to reach target audiences. Primary community partners in Hardin County include Hardin Schools, PURE, Sunrise, faith-based organizations, and community members. Primary community partners in Fayette County include Crawford Mi
In the third year of the five year grant project, CYFAR Uplift has Byran Station Middle School has a Career Exploration class where students can learn and plan for their futures. The Uplift team chose to work with 8th graders as we believed it would be more fruitful as they begin to transition and think about going to high school and beyond. We began programming in October as Covid-19 was stiff affecting attendance, and there were students out due to contact tracing in schools. There were three
The Kentucky Military Teen Adventure Camp program has been funded for another year (2022 & 2023). Three camps were held this fiscal year of (1 camp in July 2022 & 2 camps in June 2023. The camps are for Parent service members (or spouses) and their teenage children. One hundred forty-nine participants from all service branches, including Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Veterans, attended. Families traveled from states including CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, NC NE, NY, OK,
January 2023 began a new chapter for the 4-H Military Partnerships Grant. The state of Kentucky houses two Army bases in Fort Knox and Fort Campbell, and in the past, the 4-H MP Grant has helped to provide 4-H clubs and youth development programming on post for youth, teens, and families. The grant had dissolved before the pandemic in 2018, and there has not been an active grant since. In the fall of 2022, a call for proposals came out, and through the collaboration partnership of Family and Con
Author: Heather Toombs
Kentucky obesity in Adults as of 2020 is 36.6%. 23.3% of Oldham County Adults are considered obese.Family meals have been shown to have a positive correlational effect on childhood obesity. Cook with Me was a three-day curriculum where 14 individuals making up 4 families, would discuss and demonstrate meal planning, setting the table, cooking, eating, having dinner discussions, and cleaning up together to encourage family meal time. The Oldham County Family Consumer Science Agent demonstrated sh
Author: Lora Davidson
The FCS Agent and FCS Team at the Laurel County Extension office decided to host a StoryWalk as a unique and engaging way to promote early literacy and physical activity among the children in their community. The CDC recommends that adolescents who are between the ages of 6-17 years of age, receive at least 6o minutes of physical activity a day. The FCS team recognized the potential of this innovative concept and were able to host this event for the 2nd year in a row that would leave a las
Author: Lynn Blankenship
The problemMetcalfe County is a small, rural agricultural community in south central Kentucky. Due to the geography of the Appalachian foothills in our community, there are many families living in isolated areas. The poverty rate in Metcalfe County is 19.8%. According to the most recently available annual report on child fatality and near fatality by the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s External Review Panel, a contributing factor is a lack of community collaborative services
Author: Keller
Title: Parenting Workshop – Nutrition ToolsMajor Program: Family Development GeneralPlan of Work: Increase physical and mental health literacy & activityOutcome Level: InitialSNAP Related: YesThe Parenting Workshops were hosted by the Hickman County Family and Consumer Sciences agent at the Hickman County Extension office in partnership with the Hickman County Public School Family Resource Office. To allow as many parents and families to attend as possible, four sessions were hel
Author: Kerri Ashurst
Dr. Ashurst began directing the Extension Military Teen Adventure Camp (MTAC) program in 2012. The basis of the MTAC program is to provide “goal-oriented, experiential activities within nature using a family-based approach to create a deeper understanding and greater appreciation among family members, which can lead to more positive and successful outcomes” (Ashurst et al., 2014). The MTAC curriculum is grounded in wilderness and adventure therapy models. In general, wild
Author: David Weisenhorn
U.S. census data shows that 7.1 million American grandparents are living with their grandchildren under the age of 18. Some 2.3 million of those grandparents are responsible for their grandchildren. In Kentucky, 51,762 grandparents are responsible for their grandchildren, with a total of 125,706 children living in homes where a relative is head of household. As these numbers have increased over the years, so has the demands for financial and emotional security, as well as educational and b
Author: Christa O'Cull
The problem - Kid's Count Data 2022 (Lewis County, KY) reflects that 32.1% of children are born into poverty and 74% of children are part of low-income families (116 out of 120 counties). The same report states that 17.9% of children are born to mothers without a high school degree with 44.2% (109 out of 120 counties) are born to teen mothers.The educational program response - The Lewis County Extension Office Master Clothing Volunteers collaborate with The Lewis County Family Resource &
During the reporting period, Dr. Ashurst directly received 3 grants/contracts totaling $376,683. One grant for $140,000 (year 4 amount; 5 year grant) was for a Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) grant to provide life skills programming for at-risk youth. Grant sites are in Fayette and Hardin Counties. A second grant for $185,651 was received for the Military Teen Adventure Camp program to hold camps for service members and their teenage children to attend together to reconn
Dr. Ashurst has been a Federal Coach for USDA's Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Professional Development and Technical Assistance (PDTA) Center since January 2019. This is a multi-state subcontract with the University of Minnesota and Pennsylvania State University as the national leads. During the reporting period, she was assigned to oversee grants in New York, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio, Oklahoma, Maryland, and North Carolina. She was also assigned in May 2023 to new awards i
Author: Chandra DeRamus
In Kentucky, a lot of families are faced with challenges by the increase in housing cost and food costs. Within Hardin County there about 46,708 occupied housing units in Hardin County, 61.67% are owner-occupied, while 38.33% have renters living in them. There are a total of 46,708 households in Hardin County, each made up of around 3 members. Family establishments represent 67.67% of these Hardin County households, while non-family units account for the remaining 32.33%. The median household in
Author: Annette Buckman
The importance of prenatal and newborn health care is a topic that has been identified as important to the residents of Union County. A group of community partners: Union County Extension, Union County Early Childhood Council, Union County FRYSC, and Deaconess Henderson Hospital, have come together to discuss issues and develop a program for new and soon to be moms.In response to the above issues, Union County held its 18th annual World's Greatest Baby Shower on June 8th at the Union C
Author: Megan Treadway
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the early years of a child’s life are very important for later health and development, and parents and caregivers need support and the right resources to aid in that development. In April and May the Area Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences participated in events for new and expecting parents in Metcalfe, Logan, and Simpson Counties. Families received resources to track developmental milestones and tips on reaching out for ass
Author: Ashley Board
University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) programs are designed to reach audiences across the lifespan. Many individuals in the 20-50 age desire to learn about the topics FCS provides but do not attend traditional programming for a variety of reasons: they are too busy, too embarrassed, too intimidated, etc. To bridge the gap for these individuals, we must pivot and offer res
Author: Anna Morgan
The Four River Counties Regional Collaborative has been providing programs for Early Childhood Development for over 20 years. The Best Start Family Event was created to help reach and educate families that are planning, expecting, or have children under the age of two-years-old. In 2022 there was a Zoom session focusing on parenting, nutrition, and the importance of being kindergarten ready. This year was the first time it was conducted as an in-person event with a zoom option. Topics this year
