Programming Ideas for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

This article provides an overview of some of the demographics of youth experiencing homelessness and examples of how Cooperative Extension is working with this population around the country. A discussion of the needs of this population is provided, along with strategies for how Extension can connect with current efforts to reach youth experiencing homelessness to build resilience. Data are summarized from a webinar for Extension professionals. Education in this area is worthwhile to youth development professionals who may be interested in designing new programs, expanding current programs, finding new program partnerships, and using programs to support youth experiencing homelessness. Local and national-level programs that are designed to reach youth experiencing homelessness are highlighted. The structure and resources of the Cooperative Extension system nationwide are ideal to provide supplementary support to youth experiencing homelessness in a variety of settings. This article is an invitation to expand this conversation and further explore the needs of youth experiencing homelessness and Extension’s capacity to respond.

Cooperative Extension Gets Moving, but How? Exploration of Extension Health Educators’ Sources and Channels for Information-Seeking Practices

Purpose: The Cooperative Extension System (Extension) has implemented concerted efforts toward health promotion in communities across the nation by acting as an intermediary between communities and universities. Little is known about how these intermediaries communicate and learn about existing evidence-based programming. This study serves to explore this gap by learning about information sources and channels used within Extension. Design: Sequential explanatory mixed methods approach. Setting: National Cooperative Extension System. Participants: Extension community-based health educators. Methods: A nationally distributed survey with follow-up semistructured interviews. Survey results were analyzed using a Kruskal-Wallis 1-way analysis of variance test paired with Bonferroni post hoc. Transcripts were analyzed by conventional content analysis. Results: One hundred twenty-one Extension educators from 33 states responded to the survey, and 18 of 20 invited participants completed the interviews. Educators’ information seeking existed in 2 forms: (1) information sources for learning about programming and (2) channels by which this information is communicated. Extension educators reported contacting health specialists and other educators. Extension educators also reported using technological means of communication such as e-mail and Internet to reach information sources such as peers, specialists, academic journals, and so on. Conclusion: Extension state specialists were preferred as primary sources for intervention information, and technology was acknowledged as an easy contact channel. This study identifies county-based health educators’ information structures and justifies the need for future research on the role of specialists in communication efforts for educators.

Lessons from Virginia Cooperative Extension A glance at its structure and function

Virginia Cooperative extension is a part of US cooperative extension system operated through Virginia State University and Virginia tech with the support of federal, state and local governments. The structure and function of the Virginia extension has changed to serve the people in changing time, need and space. Unlike other countries, Virginia cooperative extension system is very unique as it provides complete package of extension services to the society guided by the Federal Government of USA. Through its multi-dimensional, multi-structured, and multi-leadership approach, it serves the society in many innovative ways. It provides almost all kinds of advisory services, training, demonstration and support with respect to crop and animal husbandry, industry, weather, safety and human health. In this manuscript, we made an attempt to bring these services before the world. It is based on a review of literature from books, papers, Virginia Cooperative Extension website, and personal discussions and observations. The paper reveals that Virginia tech is an important agent of Virginia extension system with a vast network to educate and train people of the society for sustainability of environment, agriculture and human health that have demonstrative utility for other countries of the world.

Designing Institutions to Support Local-Level Climate Change Adaptation: Insights from a Case Study of the U.S. Cooperative Extension System

In light of global climate change, adaptation will be necessary at all levels of social organization. However, the adaptation literature emphasizes that because the impacts of climate change and vulnerability are locally specific, adaptation is inevitably local. In this paper, in order to inform the design of institutions that can encourage and support effective local-level adaptation, the authors derive principles for their design theoretically and use a case study to explore how these principles could be practically implemented. Ten design principles are synthesized from principles derived from reviews of the literatures on local-level adaptation, usable science, and boundary organizations. Bringing these three literatures together highlights the characteristics of boundary organizations that make them particularly valuable for addressing the challenges of local-level adaptation. The case study then illustrates how an existing boundary organization, The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, of the U.S. Cooperative Extension System (CES), implements these principles in its organizational structure and in the daily practice of Extension professionals. It also highlights the significance of the CES’s existing social networks and social capital for facilitating their implementation. From the case study it is concluded that the CES is uniquely positioned to serve an important role in a national adaptation strategy for the United States in supporting local-level adaptation in urban and rural communities across the country.

Preparing Adults to Work with Youth: An Environmental Scan of Professional Development

This feature article shares the results of a national environmental scan conducted to identify professional development programs offered for school age providers across the nation through the Cooperative Extension System. A purposeful sample comprised of representatives from state extension offices throughout the country included 135 respondents from 48 states. Results showed 139 professional development programs for school age providers were offered through the Cooperative Extension System. The majority of programs offered professional development in the areas of health, nutrition, safety, youth development, and quality afterschool environments. This article summarizes the findings of the environmental scan, including number of contact hours, program scope, and program partners, as well as discussion and recommendations for future work in this area.

Taking the University to Rural Manufacturers in the USA

This paper examines how the Cooperative Extension System can be positioned as a collaborator in advancing manufacturing modernization in the USA. The authors consider whether the Cooperative Extension System has an interest in assisting manufacturers and, if so, what capacity it can bring that is complementary to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Centers. They also assess whether there are sufficient parallel interests between the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership programme (in rural areas) and the Cooperative Extension System to warrant closer coordination and collaboration at the federal, state and local levels.