Volunteers play integral roles in 4-H programs, performing a variety of duties, functions, and tasks and possessing varied and rich knowledge, skills, and backgrounds. The success of Extension programming is due, in part, to the dedication of a large cadre of volunteers. Although highly valued, volunteer involvement does not guarantee achievement of Extension's goals and fulfillment of learners' needs.

4-H youth development programs within Extension depend heavily on adult volunteers and provide extensive education to volunteer leaders. 4-H traditionally focuses on positive youth development, but adult volunteers are the mainstay of the programs. A study of Ohio 4-H agents revealed that they believed orienting volunteers is important but lack information on whether their training programs or teaching strategies are effective. Non-systematic training and the lack of volunteer recognition are two problems identified as crucial to the management of Extension volunteers. Although the training received by Extension volunteers has been rated as "quality" when compared to other organizations, the need to strengthen the design and implementation of 4-H training programs is ongoing. This year Scott County had six volunteers attend the forum and one attain accreditation. All were supportive of the program and have interest in attending in 2022. In Scott County we have worked hard to increase the level of volunteer recruitment, retention, and recognition. We increased efforts to raise awareness of the forum and it's importance for our volunteers. We increased our attendance to include 12 volunteers and of the 12 we had two complete the Master Accreditation program. We will continue our efforts and continue to increase not only attendance to the KY Volunteer Forum, but recruiting/ retaining county volunteers. In Scott County we also lead a volunteer update at the beginning of the program year. This training gave Agents and Volunteers the opportunity to discuss strengths and weaknesses of the program, expectations (of Agents and Volunteers), as finally develop overall program goals for the youth in the programs. This training also gave agents the opportunity to develop a schedule as well as gather information needed for the newsletter per month. These efforts have proven to help keep all parties on the same page and have a solid base for communication.