The Gateway Youth Court Diversion Program is an initiative to work with youth who have been convicted of minor criminal charges to redirect their decision making and promote positive behavior changes. The Menifee County 4-H agents and the Gateway Court Designated Workers developed a program to teach self-worth and valuable life skills to the youth in this pogram.  A planning meeting was held in November to discuss what the court workers needed the program to contain.  An agenda was put together by the 4-H agents and two programs were scheduled. At the January event four youth attended for a two-hour program and the February event had eleven attendees.  

Though the program, youth participated in lessons about nutrition, cooking, dressing for success and communication.  Lessons for the program came from the Nutrition Education Teen Cuisine curriculum and the Foundations in Personal Finance curriculum. Youth also learned about the dangers of illegal drug use, including vaping and tobacco for minors. All youth demonstrated their ability to prepare a healthy snack, to balance a family budget, to choose appropriate attire for a job interview, to create a vision board and set at least one goal for the next five years, and to identify at least one hazard of vaping and illegal drug use.