Author: Jan Gibson
Planning Unit: Perry County CES
Major Program: 4-H Youth Development Programming
Plan of Work: Unrelated to a specified County Plan of Work
Outcome: Initial Outcome
As a 4-H Agent I probably have more opportunity to work with a more culturally diverse audience than others in this office. Not many of our schools have racial diversity, but a few of them do and I have programs of some nature in each. There are not any minority teaching staff to include in the programming leadership but there is one adult in one of the school systems and he has been active in several 4-H programming efforts. Efforts are made to make it easier for low income or diverse racial youth participate. Transportation is a problem in both districts for after-school plans, so many times school enrichment helps youth be able to take part. It is getting a little more difficult to determine the socio-economic background of the youth as both school systems now have free lunches. The figures on federal free and reduced school lunches use to be helpful without directly obtaining the income data, but county wide the unemployment indicates an increase in low income. It is for this reason our 4-H program doesn't do a lot of fundraising with the youth, but for the youth. They seem to have to do fund raising for school functions and this could become a barrier to participation for 4-H. This is one of the issues that has been discussed during the 4-H committee of the Extension Council in Affirmative Action plan. Instead we seek donations, grants, and partnerships or I find grants that the leaders are able to tap into like the county Soil Conservation grant system or the Foundation of Appalachian KY youth grants. This past year the county 4-H Program was able to award three youth scholarships to post secondary education based on their achievement of KY Gold Honor or Clover Level V.
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