March 2, 2021
Update of Kansas 4-H Policy - Revised 3/1/2021
Due to your constructive feedback, there have been a couple revisions to the new 4-H policy. I have engaged stakeholders in Animal Science, agents and Extension Administration in these revisions.
Topics updated include: Clarification of state contest eligibility, and a re-insertion of past policy statements (with some additional clarification) regarding permissible and not permissible uses of the 4-H name and emblem/KSRE resources in competitive livestock events and its relation to Kansas gaming laws.
Please be looking forward to guidance documents in the coming weeks on enhancing the educational objectives, methods, and evaluation of extension sponsored competitive livestock shows. Many of you are doing a great job in this arena. I say thank you. Others have requested guidance on enhancing the exhibitor and public engagement experience of shows in order to better represent the Cooperative Extension mission with the latest science from youth development research. Together we can design high quality youth experiences (shows) with intentional learning and purpose-filled community engagement.
The reasons for this change is to intentionally engage in purposeful program design based upon youth development science regarding a great exhibitor experience (related to basic needs of youth: belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity) and learning that connects to a purposeful community engagement and educational objectives (like farm to table issues, communicating the criteria of how animals are evaluated, or using these examples or how does the livestock industry impact your county). The 4-H Youth Development Department is here to assist agents in program design, methods and evaluation related to competitive livestock shows that demonstrate excellent applied youth development science and community engagement in action.
The following link will take you to the updated version: https://www.kansas4-h.org/about/policy-guide.html.
And the additional Staff Resources are located here under Documents: https://www.kansas4-h.org/staff-downloads/resources/index.html.
Be sure to check out additional staff resources within Microsoft TEAMS under KSRE RESOURCES and then the Youth Development CHANNEL under the POLICY folder and post in the GENERAL chat.
The reasons for this change is to intentionally engage in purposeful program design based upon youth development science
Thanks for all you do to lead the Kansas 4-H Program in updating our practices to reflect our current legal realities and youth development science.