The mission of the migrant program is to provide educational and human resource service opportunities that strengthen and enhance the development of the migrant child and the migrant family. The Migrant Program focuses primarily on the educational needs of the Migrant child and attempts to eliminate barriers to provide for successful educational achievement.     Two of the local Migrant Program Coordinators approached the Barren County Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development about starting a 4-H Club just for the Migrant families in their school system. After discussing the opportunities that the 4-H Program (horticulture, foods and nutrition, animal awareness, leadership, teamwork and community service) could offer the children it was determined that we broaden the scope to include the entire Migrant family. Most of the family members do not speak English and prefer to come with their children for out of school programs- due to safety concerns. Since the program was going to be for the family, the Barren County Extension Agent for FCS and Barren County Program Assistant were recruited to assist with programming. The Migrant Program Coordinators contacted the families through letters, flyers and individual visit to tell them about the meeting at the Barren County Extension Office. None of the families had utilized the services of the Barren County Extension Office; therefore, each meeting provided information on our different services.

The Migrant Program provided an interpreter to translate for us. We provided the families (all in Spanish) Cooking With the Calendars, recipe cards, 4-H Enrollment forms and 4-H project materials. Twenty-five members of different families (including two Fathers) participated The Regional Migrant Program Coordinator joined the program and described her experiences with 4-H Camp as a Volunteer and the benefits for the youth they had attended.

This is a new approach to including the youth in the 4-H program in addition to school programs. Including the entire family provided reassurance that the program was appropriate for them and their children. They are excited about the many opportunities that the Extension Service provides and we are pleased to include this audience in our programming efforts.

The impact has been very positive for the Migrant families, Migrant Coordinators and the Extension Office Staff. It is very important that the Migrant families feel comfortable with us as we do with them. The interpreter is a necessary part of this equation. Two or three of the Mothers and older children speak broken English; therefore, she is essential. The Extension Staff are also learning their customs, likes and dislikes, We all attended an Online workshop to gather more ideas for future programs.

The Glasgow 4-H Migrant Club received the honor of wining at the 2024 KY 4-H Volunteer Forum the 4-H IDEA Award for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility.  The 4-H Agent also presented the award to the two Migrant Workers at the Glasgow School System Board Meeting