Describe the Issue or Situation:  Family Magazine reports that 76% of middle school age youth are babysitting either family members or other’s children. Childcare training provides life skills in parenting. Babysitting is often a youth’s first gainful employment experience.

Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable):  

The Meade County Cooperative Extension Service 4-H program offered an 8 hour 4-H Babysitting Basics programs at Stuart Pepper Middle School as an afterschool program.  Participants learned about child development and milestones, safety and first aid, toys and activities for children, basic care of infants, toddlers and children, how to make healthy afterschool snacks, and the business basics of being a self-employed babysitter.  The Kentucky Nutrition Education website (www.planeatmove.com) was shared with participants as a resources to find healthy, easy and low-cost recipes to use when babysitting.  This program was a collaborative effort between the Meade County 4-H Youth Development program, the Stuart Pepper Youth Services Center, and the Meade County Cooperative Extension Service office. The 4-H program created the recruitment flyer and provided the 8 educational hours to participants. The youth service center helped to recruit participants and obtained parental permission for them to stay.  The event was hosted at the middle school during their afterschool program time for four days. 

Provide the Number and Description(s) of Participants/Target Audience:  Seventeen 7^th – 8^th grade youth, sixteen female and one male (17 White)

Provide a Statement of Outcomes or Program Impact. Please note that the outcomes statement must use evaluation data to describe the change(s) that occurred in individuals, groups, families, businesses, or in the community because of the program/outreach:  

Evaluation included written pre-tests and post-tests and daily discussions on lessons from the previous day. A comparison of the pre-post test scores showed an eighty-eight percent increase in knowledge in the following content areas: handling an emergency, what to do with a surprise visitor, proper positioning of an infant for sleeping, developmental needs of an infant, sanitation, and cleanliness, maintain good business records, and positive child behavior guidance.  Fifteen of the seventeen participants increased their pre versus post test scores with six of them receiving 100% on their final test.

Participants also shared that the following skills had been gained and used because of participating in this program: learning how to perform infant care (i.e. changing diapers, feeding and burping, bathing and changing clothes), keeping accurate records, ability to communicate in front of a group, use of safety practices, preparing healthy and economical snacks, and keeping a child occupied during a babysitting job.  During the lesson on setting your babysitting fees, seventy-five percent of participants reassessed the hourly wage they were charging prior to the babysitting clinic and chose to raise their rates an average of $10.00 per hour.

All seventeen participants attended all four days of the program and officially completed the 4-H Babysitting Basics Clinic – each received a certificate of completion.   All participants received a 4-H Babysitting bag filled with resources and tools to help them succeed as a babysitting business owner.

Prior to taking the 4-H Babysitting Basics course, just over xx percent of the youth had not cared for children but felt better prepared after completing the class. Ninety percent of participants could state and understand the primary responsibilities of a babysitter. One hundred percent of these future babysitters learned at least 3 vital pieces of information they need to know before parents leave the home; these youth could also name two places or people to contact in event of an emergency.