Category: Risk Mgmt.

Risk management and insurance issues, including info on release forms.

October 30, 2012

Hay Rack Ride Information

HB1315/Public Act 0017 was passed into law on January 1, 2012. Information related to this law is posted on the portal under Groups: 4-H Contacts: Risk Management Resources. Please review this information if you are considering hay rack rides. For more information or questions contact your state legislator, state's attorney, or law enforcement official. This is not 4-H policy; rather Illinois state law. However, you may want to download this file and include it in your Unit Management Handbook.

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 8:07 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Risk Mgmt., Volunteers

September 20, 2012

Additional Resources on 4-H Policy Changes Posted to the Portal

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 4-H Policy Changes session at the All 4-H Staff Meeting this week. The three documents that were distributed during our discussion have been uploaded on the Portal to help guide county staff through the beginning of the new 4-H year.

* FAQ #2 - Additional Questions on 4-H Fiscal Issues and Policies (add this to the 1st FAQ document)
* Sample of Best Practices - The Nuts and Bolts of 4-H Clubs
* Next Steps for Fall 2012: 4-H Checklist

These can be accessed on the Portal: Groups: 4-H Contacts: Staff Development: Webinars: 4-H Fiscal Issues and Policies 2012.

Also included in the webinars section is a copy of the September 6 PowerPoint (in Notes view). If you have not already done so, this would be a great resource to have available along with your Unit Management Handbook and FAQ documents.

Continue to send success stories, best practices, and any further questions to us.

Sheri Seibold and Karen Moore

Posted by Karen S. Moore at 11:11 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Clubs, Fiscal/Tax, Policies/UMH, Risk Mgmt., Staff Development

July 19, 2012

Newly Revised CANTS Form

 New CANTS Form As of 7/16/2012, there is a newly revised CANTS Form - Form CFS689. They are now doing electronic submission of the form. You may go to the portal under Groups: 4-H Contacts: Volunteer Placement: New CANTS Form to access the form or you may go to the DCFS website www.state.il.us/dcfs under forms and work from there. You would complete the form online and then print the form in order to have an original signature. The signed form would then need to be scanned as a pdf by an Extension staff member (with the proper Extension office information at the bottom) and emailed to cfs689background@illinois.gov. If the report results in a "no priors", the 689 form will be stamped and returned to you by email. If the check results in positive findings, the report will be returned to you by mail.

We will be incorporating this into the 2012 Unit Management Handbook and discussing this on a new webinar in late August/early September. If you have questions before then, please contact Sheri Seibold.

Details will need to be finalized for completing the necessary county office information at the bottom of the page and posting the new form as a link on your own websites so that volunteers can complete the form online and then turn the signed paper copy back into you. Office staff will then need to scan the document as a pdf and email it to the address listed above. The key ingredient here is an original signature is required. 

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 11:06 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Policies/UMH, Risk Mgmt., Volunteers

May 7, 2012

Withdrawal of proposed rule dealing with children who work in agriculture

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."

Posted by Daniel J. Jennings at 4:24 PM | Permalink |
Categories: Clubs, Employable Youth, Legislative, Livestock , Policies/UMH, PYD, Risk Mgmt.

April 20, 2012

2011 North Central Region Volunteer e-Forum DVD's Available


2011 North Central Region Volunteer e-Forum DVD's Available

Today I put in the mail 3 DVD's to each 4-H Youth Development Educator. There is one DVD for each of the three sessions that were offered in November 2011 as part of the North Central Region Volunteer e-Forum. Please utilize these DVD's to share the sessions with 4-H volunteers in your unit. You may play one topic at a leader training or share one whole DVD at a time. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me - Sheri Seibold at 217.333.9290 or by email at sseibold@illinois.edu. Program Coordinators and Community Workers - know that the 4-H Youth Development Educator have these available for use in your counties.

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 9:28 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Community Service, Projects, PYD, Risk Mgmt., Volunteers

March 14, 2012

2012 VALUED Volunteer Winter Telenet Series Concludes

The 2012 VALUED Volunteer Winter Telenet Series concluded this week. 20 volunteers from 14 counties participated in one or more of the six sessions as well as 4 Extension 4-H staff members. Cathy Blunier, Johnna Jennings, Deanna Roby, and Sheri Seibold as members of the Volunteerism Work Group served as facilitators. The six sessions held were on Positive Youth Development, Communications within the 4-H Club, Behavior Management, Risk Management, Parental Involvement, and Community Service. Special thanks to those staff members who helped promote the program and who supported volunteers who attended. I hope that you will recognize those that participated at a local leader meeting and give them the opportunity to share what they learned with other leaders. This program is partially supported by funds from Monsanto. If you have questions about the VALUED Volunteer Program please feel free to contact Sheri Seibold at sseibold@illinois.edu.

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 9:13 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Community Service, Risk Mgmt., Staff Development, Volunteers

March 7, 2012

4-H 101 Webinar Registration Updated

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.

Posted by Patricia C. McGlaughlin at 8:08 PM | Permalink |
Categories: Awards, Scholarships & Recognition, Clubs, E&R, Fiscal/Tax, Local Fairs & APF, Policies/UMH, PYD, Risk Mgmt., Shooting Sports, SPIN Clubs, Staff Development, State Fair, Thinking Green, Volunteers

February 13, 2012

4-H 101 Webinars Updated

Several of the 4-H 101 Webinar Materials have been updated and posted to the Portal at Groups: 4-H Contacts: Staff Development: Webinars.

Volunteer Screening Webinar - an updated power point with notes pages has been posted since the recording is no longer available. A FAQ fact sheet has also been created and posted. If you have additional questions, please send those to Sheri Seibold at sseibold@illinois.edu.

Risk Management Webinar - an updated power point with notes pages has been posted to the portal as well. In addition a FAQ fact sheet has been created and posted. Again, if you have additional questions,please send them to Sheri Seibold at sseibold@illinois.edu.

4-H Policies Webinar - the power point with notes pages has been posted along with a FAQ fact sheet. The shared membership agreement, mentor fact sheet, 4-H policies, and Clover Challenge agreement form were also posted. In addition, we have a new feature - a audio and visual recording of the webinar. The link to this site is posted on the portal. Go to http://media.itcs.illinois.edu/telenet/20120110/3687.html. Let us know what you think of this new feature.

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 8:32 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Policies/UMH, Risk Mgmt., Staff Development, Volunteers

February 13, 2012

Sign Up Now for 4-H 101 Webinars -- Updated!

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:

  • Thursday, September 15, 2011 - 10:00 a.m. - New 4-H Year
  • Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 1:30 p.m. - Volunteer Screening
  • Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - 1:30 p.m. - Risk Management
  • Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - 4-H Policies
  • Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 1:30 p.m. - Expansion & Review


    • 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.

    Posted by Patricia C. McGlaughlin at 8:30 AM | Permalink |
    Categories: Awards, Scholarships & Recognition, Clubs, E&R, Fiscal/Tax, Local Fairs & APF, Policies/UMH, PYD, Risk Mgmt., SPIN Clubs, Staff Development, State Fair, Thinking Green, Volunteers