October 1, 2019
Updated 4-H Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct for Kansas 4-H members, parents, volunteers, and professionals has been updated to clarify expectations, the mission of 4-H Youth Development, and also accurately represent changes in legal and university policies. It is the responsibility of the State 4-H Program to determine, and update when necessary, the Codes of Conduct for program participation in Kansas 4-H Youth Development. This update enables all participants to be an active and positive part of the 4-H Youth Development Mission in partnership with Local Extension Units and Kansas State University. Effective October 1, 2019, the updated 4-H code of conduct is available to participants, parents, volunteers, and professional staff through 4HOnline enrollment.
The Kansas 4-H Youth Development’s vision is to provide a world where youth and adults acquire and advance positive life skills by learning, growing, and working together. In order to maximize the resources and latitude to achieve the KSRE youth development mission through 4-H, the code of conduct needed to be updated.
During this past year, the 4-H Youth Development Department has been reviewing risk management and overall departmental policies. The previous 4-H Code of Conduct (revised in 2014) was deemed unsatisfactory and not up to date after University review. Therefore changes were made to the Code of Conduct for 4-H youth, parents, and volunteers to be in alignment with Kansas State University risk management and conduct standards. These changes have been vetted and approved through Extension Administration and K-State General Legal Counsel for implementation during the 2019-2020 4-H program year.
The final recommendations for this updated Code of Conduct were received Sept. 27, 2019 from K-State General Counsel. The Kansas 4-H Youth Development Department is working to update documents and websites to reflect this change. I am thankful for the work of the 4-H Youth Development Department to provide a viable code of conduct that reflects the behavioral expectations of 4-H Youth Development for the coming year.
I am asking all local units to examine local 4-H documents for previous 4-H Codes of Conduct in print and electronically. Please pull off previous 4-H Codes of Conduct from KSRE websites and begin the process of updating local documents. Please share this document with Extension Boards and stakeholders as well. The following is a link to the forms page where the updated volunteer and member/parent codes of conduct are located: https://www.kansas4-h.org/resources/4-h-library/forms/index.html.
I am excited how these updated codes of conduct will continue to bring clarification of behavior expectations and help all parties in local Extension units and at K-State move forward in the Kansas 4-H Youth Development mission! If you have questions, please contact me at wweber@ksu.edu.