Responses to the 4-H Career Development Survey have been coming in from 12th grade 4-H members from across Illinois and the data is starting to be compiled by the Survey Research Lab. Your support of the data collection process is greatly appreciated. Dan Horn has posted several new items to the portal to assist you in sending email reminders to non-respondents. Items needed to complete the next steps include: 1) Reminder Letter for Survey (includes content for the email reminder); 2) Instructions to Generate Reminder Emails for Survey; 3) Spreadsheet containing Completed Codes as of 5-23-2012; and 4) Instructions for Creating Spreadsheet. The Career Development Study Task List identifies target dates for sending email reminders as May 24-June 2, with the optimal response rate being for email surveys sent on a Monday, Thursday, or Friday.

If you need technical assistance, please contact Dan Horn, dchorn@illinois.edu; or call 217-333-0826. All of the information associated with the 4-H Impact Studies are posted on the Portal; 4-H Contacts; Evaluation.

Labor Department statement on withdrawal of proposed rule dealing with children who work in agricultural vocations

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor today issued the following statement regarding the withdrawal of a proposed rule dealing with children who work in agricultural vocations:

"The Obama administration is firmly committed to promoting family farmers and respecting the rural way of life, especially the role that parents and other family members play in passing those traditions down through the generations. The Obama administration is also deeply committed to listening and responding to what Americans across the country have to say about proposed rules and regulations.

"As a result, the Department of Labor is announcing today the withdrawal of the proposed rule dealing with children under the age of 16 who work in agricultural vocations.

"The decision to withdraw this rule – including provisions to define the 'parental exemption' – was made in response to thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms. To be clear, this regulation will not be pursued for the duration of the Obama administration.

"Instead, the Departments of Labor and Agriculture will work with rural stakeholders – such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, the Future Farmers of America, and 4-H – to develop an educational program to reduce accidents to young workers and promote safer agricultural working practices."

Career Development Study – The Email invitation is now ready to send to 12^th grade 4-H members in your unit. The target dates for sending the email invitation are May 3-12, with the optimal response rate being for email surveys sent on a Monday, Thursday, or Friday. Dan Horn has posted several items to the portal to assist you with this process including: 1) Instructions for Creating a Spreadsheet for Career Study through DMS which helps you obtain contact information for 12^th grade 4-H Members (creates an Excel spreadsheet with member's name and email); 2) Instructions for Generating Emails for Career Development Survey (initiates sending customized emails to all 12-grade members simultaneously); 3) Codes for Surveys (Unique codes assigned to your Unit); and 4) the 2012 Evaluation of 4-H Programs in Illinois – Survey Invitation Email: 4-H Career Development which is the IRB approved document text to send to the 12^th grade 4-H members.

If you need technical assistance, please contact Dan Horn, dchorn@illinois.edu, or call 217-333-0826. If you have questions regarding who should receive the survey, when to send the initial invite, and later follow-up, or other research procedures, please contact Denise Legvold, dlegvold@illinois.edu, or call 217-333-0910. If email or internet access is not available, paper-copies of the invitation can be sent, but NOT paper-copies of the survey itself. Additional information related to the email reminder for non-respondents will be posted to the portal mid-May. Please refer to the Career Development Study Task List for a complete listing of the steps to follow for survey distribution. We look forward to using data collected from this survey to understand how 4-H influences the post-secondary decisions of 4-H members.

4-H Club Experience Study – Many of you have been successful in completing club visits and administering the 4-H Club Experience surveys in your Unit. Please refer to the 4-H Club Experience Study Task List as you move through the process if you have questions OR contact Pat McGlaughlin, patm@illinois.edu; or call 217-333-0913. Important steps to remember: 1) Keep the surveys for each club in a separate envelop with a cover sheet (template posted on the portal); 2) Mail packets of completed surveys to the Survey Research Lab at the address provided on the Task List; and 3) Email a copy of the completed Random Sample Spreadsheet to Pat McGlaughlin when all data collection is complete in your Unit.

4-H Science Study –Remember to identify 4-H science clubs, programs and events in your unit to target for the 4-H Science Survey. Even though the completed surveys are not due until September 1^st, it is important to schedule appointments to administer the surveys when the clubs or groups are meeting, and when the science focused events are scheduled. If you have any questions related to the 4-H Science Study, please contact Lisa Diaz, lbdiaz@illinois.edu; or call 217-333-0910.

Thank you for your assistance in this data collection process!

Under the direction of 4-H YD Educators each county is engaged in collecting data this spring and summer in preparation for fall reports. Please review carefully the Task List for each study that has been posted to the Portal under Evaluation. Note the tasks that can be completed now while we wait for IRB approval. DO NOT communicate details of the study to 4-H members until after we have IRB approval. It is critical that appropriate research methods are used in collecting and handling data. Look to your 4-H YD Educator for guidance.

Educators – task lists, overview slides, team meeting recordings, sample impact documents, and supporting research references have been posted for your use as you plan with Unit staff.

Thank you everyone for your assistance. This is an exciting statewide endeavor that will benefit everyone as we strive to tell our impact story locally and statewide.

Register for upcoming 4-H 101 webinars via the updated registration site.These training opportunites are appropriate for 4-H staff, office support staff and county directors since each staff role has a unique part in supporting the Illinois 4-H program.

Once completed, 4-H 101 Webinarrecordings, powerpoints with notepages, and related documentswill be archived on the Portal; 4-H Contacts; Staff Development; Webinars.

Registration is open for these upcoming webinars:

Monday, March 12, 2012 - 1:30 PM - Think Green
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 1:30 PM - 4-H Fiscal Issues
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - 10:30 AM - 4-H Shooting Sports
Thursday, March 29, 2012 - 10:00 AM - SPIN Clubs
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 1:30 PM - State Fair Online
Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 1:30 PM - Recognition, Part II
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - 1:30 PM - PYD BIG-M, Part I
Thursday, April 26, 2012 - 1:30 PM - PYD BIG-M, Part II
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 1:30 PM - State Fair Update


Click here for more information or to register: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=6575
NOTE: A confirmation for each 4-H 101 Webinar will be sent to your email account when you register. Save all email confirmations so you do not duplicate your registration.

Be aware that webinar times and days of the week vary and note those dates and times on your calendar.You are encouraged to register at least five days prior to each webinar as topic-specific information may be shared with participants prior to some sessions.

The Great American NO BULL Challenge is the largest campaign to combat cyberbullying in America's history: The Great American NO BULL Challenge, invites 4-H's to get involved with the annual campaign that inspires America's 25 million teens to stand up and create a video with an anti-bullying message. Check the website at: www.nobullchallenge.org.

The Great American NO BULL Challenge offers teens in 6^th – 12^th grades the opportunity to write and direct videos on the danger of cyberbullying and be a part of a national competition where the winners will be recognized as a celebrity at the star-studded NO BULL Red Carpet Awards Event in San Francisco on July 21, 2012.

If you are worried you don't know enough to get involved – everything teens need to know about making a video; what cyberbullying really is; standing up; prevention and intervention tips are available in the online NO BULL Cyberbullying 411 Toolkit. The toolkit was developed by teens FOR teens and contains everything you need to create a 3-5 minute video starring you and your friends on how you would deal with cyberbullying; upload the video; and urge your friends, family and community members to vote for your video.

Join Paige Logan, Illinois 4-H member who is one of only five teens serving on the National NO BULL Youth Advisory Council in this effort to put an end to cyberbullying! The deadline for uploading your Great American NO BULL Challenge video is March 15^th!

Register for any or all of the upcoming 4-H 101 webinars.

This is a training opportunity for 4-H staff, office support staff and county directors, since each staff role has a unique part in supporting the Illinois 4-H programs.

The following 4-H 101 Webinars have already been completed and the powerpoints with notepages and related documents are available on the Portal under Groups; 4-H Contacts; Staff Development; Webinars:

Registration is open for these upcoming webinars:

• Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Starting New 4-H Clubs
• Thursday, February 23, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. - SPIN Clubs
• Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - 4-H Ag Premium Fund
• Monday, March 12, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Think Green Initiative - DATE CHANGED
• Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Recognition - Part I
• Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - 4-H Fiscal Issues
• Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - State Fair Online
• Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Recognition - Part II
• Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - PYD BIG-M, Part I - NEW ADDITION
• Thursday, April 26, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - PYD BIG-M, Part II - NEW ADDITION
• Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - State Fair Update

Click here for more information or to register.

NOTE: A confirmation for each 4-H 101 Webinar is sent to your email account when you register. Please check for those email confirmations so you do not duplicate your registration.

Note that webinar times and days of the week vary. Please register at least 5 days prior to each webinar, as topic-specific info may be shared with participants before the sessions.

I really enjoy working on developmental projects which require lots of thought, discussions, testing, etc. A few of the items I am currently working on include:

• A & S (analyze and strategize) report. This report will be in the hands of County Directors and 4-H YD Educators mid-February and the topic of discussion at a Feb 21 webinar for the same audience. This is the first time we are heavily relying on data-driven analysis of our 4-H program to shape future decision-making. Because it is the first time, I feel most comfortable managing the roll-out of this information by covering it with CDs and Educators first who will in turn use it for internal discussion at the Unit and County level.
• Metro positions. Due to recent retirements and departures, as well as adequate state funding to slightly expand our work in metro areas, I am taking some time to learn from the field what our lessons are from the first 6 months. Look for us to post metro positions within a few weeks.
• State-wide 4-H YD Impact being measured in 2012. Did you know we have a Survey Research Laboratory on campus and centrally housed at the University of Illinois in Chicago? We are seeking their services to develop tools, and do data reduction, analysis, and report-writing. Expect three tools that answer three questions: 1) are our 4-H clubs providing a high-quality PYD experience?, 2) do youth in our science learning experiences express interest and demonstrated aspirations in the field of science?, and 3) what percent of the youth aging out of 4-H go onto higher education and how did their 4-H leader, project, or participation influence their decision?

Like you, I also have operational tasks to fulfill. Currently I am on the search committee for our IT Director for Extension. It was exciting to hear the candidates talk about new technologies and their application to Extension. One candidate commented that 4-H could be training college faculty on what to expect next as we currently work with their future students. Interesting!

And, like you, I have organizational changes to embrace like Unified Communications (Lync). It's being rolled out on campus and at the State 4-H Office now; field-based colleagues will be hearing more about it soon. I decided to be an early adopter in the State 4-H Office and will be giving up my land-line phone to solely use Lync communication on my computer. The features are wonderful. As you have the opportunity to learn more, please take advantage.

Take care everyone!