Category: Employable Youth

Employable Youth initiative and related topics - including Welcome to the Real World.

November 26, 2012

Employable Youth Initiative Update

Employable Youth Initiative Update

Newly posted to the portal are several items related to WTTRW and to Skills to Pay the Bills.

Two evaluation forms - an end-of-session and a follow up evaluation form have been posted to the portal under Groups: 4-H Contacts: WTTRW. These forms replace the evaluation tools included on the WTTRW CD. Read the description for each form on the portal. These should important to staff who have included WTTRW as a part of their POW for this year.

In addition, under Groups: 4-H Contacts: Employable Youth Initiative, there is a new Skills to Pay the Bills Survey to be used at the end of the multi-session program using the Skills to Pay the Bills curriculum from U.S. Dept. of Labor. The link to the curriculum and short videos on each of the "soft skills" is also posted on the portal. You can also download a flyer about the program. Again, please read the instructions on the portal about the use of the evaluation form. This information is shared for those of you who included Skills to Pay the Bills as a part of your POW.

Be sure to enroll WTTRW and Skills to Pay the Bills program participants in 4-H DMS and include impact information in your success stories in your monthly reporting.

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 10:47 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Employable Youth, Staff Development, Volunteers

May 31, 2012

Employable Youth Initiative

Employable Youth Inititative - For Units That Have This Initiative Included in Their POW

A new category has been added to the portal under Groups: 4-H Contacts: Employable Youth Initiative. There are three subcategories: General Resources, Grab N Go Lessons, and SCANS. In the General Resources sub category there is a new flyer on programming opportunities in this area, a link to a Journal of Extension article on workforce preparation, a link to the WTTRW web site, and a new flyer on the Skills to Pay the Bills curriculum.

The Grab N Go subcategory has activities, handouts, and power points that were created by the NAE4HA Work Force Preparation and Career Exploration Task Force. Some additional files will be added in the future. Staff may want to use some of these activities as they conduct programming in the workforce preparation area.

The SCANS category includes a link to the SCANS Report to America 2000 which lists the skills and competencies youth need to have to succeed in the world of work. In addition there is a copy of the SCANS wheel and a document to help staff prepare to implement work force preparation activities. 

In addition on the portal there is a category for WTTRW. This contains the most up-to-date information on that curriculum. The curriculum was updated in 2010 and educators and program support staff were trained in 2010 as well. WTTRW is the primary curriculum of the Employable Youth Inititiative and youth enrollment should be entered in 4-H DMS. The evaluation data should be sent to Sheri Seibold upon completion of the curriculum.

If you have questions or suggestons about this information on the portal, please feel free to contact Sheri Seibold at 217.333.9220 or seibold@illinois.edu.

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 11:00 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Employable Youth

May 24, 2012

4-H Career Development Study UPDATE

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.

Posted by Patricia C. McGlaughlin at 8:06 PM | Permalink |
Categories: Clubs, Employable Youth, PYD, Science-Excited, SET, Staff Development

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.

May 1, 2012

Statewide 4-H Impact Studies Update - Career Development, Club Experience, and Science

Career Development Study – The Email invitation is now ready to send to 12th 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 12th 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 12th 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 1st, 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!

Posted by Patricia C. McGlaughlin at 3:51 PM | Permalink |
Categories: Clubs, Employable Youth, PYD, Science-Excited, SET, Staff Development

April 16, 2012

WTTRW Materials Updated on Portal

Welcome to the Real World - WTTRW materials have been updated on the portal. This is a lengthy message but I will attempt to explain the changes. I have posted to the portal new expenditure category sheets. These replace the sheets that are on the CD you received in March 2010. The new expenditure sheets include ones for housing and insurance. Be sure to use the last two pages of the 20 page file on insurance - rather than those earlier sheets in the file.

On the portal I have posted some additional materials that may be helpful to you as a trainer and for the teachers that you work with. These include the file - Changes to the WTTRW Curriculum, Millionaire Game and Key, and Savings When You Don't Have a Dime to Spare. The Changes handout was distributed at the Spring 2010 training but was not included on the CD. The other 3 files are additional information you may find helpful. I also posted the credit/debit card cover for your use as well.

I have reposted several power points - two with the updated expenditure categories figures corrected. So...you have several power points that you may feel free to use and/or share with teachers. Some may need to be customized for your own use.

Finally, I have posted three items as it relates to evaluation - the Evaluation Checklist for Teachers to keep track of the materials that come back to the school from the parents; the Teacher Transmittal Form that teachers would use to turn in with the end-of-session and follow up surveys; and the County/Multi-County Transmittal Form if you conduct an event where there are multiple classrooms or schools involved. Please send any evaluation materials to me - Sheri Seibold at the State 4-H Office. Don't forget to enroll your groups in 4-H DMS.

I will be working with Pennie Crinion this spring to revise the evaluation process and procedures for WTTRW. We hope to make them less cumbersome and to eliminate the parental consent portion. However, it will involve a new IRB application so stay tuned. Hope to have it ready for the new 4-H year in September.

If you have questions about WTTRW, please feel free to contact me. However, do take a few minutes to update your computer files related to WTTRW by downloading the information I have posted on the portal.

Posted by Sheri Seibold at 9:51 AM | Permalink |
Categories: Employable Youth, Volunteers

March 28, 2012

Prepare for Statewide 4-H Impact Studies - Club Experience, Science, Career Development

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.

Posted by Denise Legvold at 1:49 PM | Permalink |
Categories: Clubs, Employable Youth, PYD, Science-Excited, SET, Staff Development

February 18, 2012

2012 Illini Summer Academies Registration Opens March 1

We are extremely excited to announce plans for the upcoming 2012 Illini Summer Academies (ISA). We have 11 Academies this year - up 3 from last year and introducing 4 NEW Academies - and have added an additional day of programming, including a 1/2 day of community service.

ISA is our summer teen "conference" that takes place on the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana campus. It is open to ALL Illinois high school teens - it is not limited to 4-H members. It will start on Sunday afternoon, June 24 and continue through Wednesday afternoon, June 27. High school teens from across the state will participate in 15-hours of college department Academies, exploring a college major and potential careers with hands-on work in labs, classrooms, and field trips. The Leadership Academy will focus on Youth and Adult Partnerships this year and encourage adult participation for one day of the 3-day Academy.

2012 ISA Academy Options include:
* Aerospace Engineering
* Agricultural & Biological Engineering
* Art & Design
* Bioengineering
* Crop Sciences
* Electrical & Computer Engineering
* Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
* Leadership
* Molecular & Cellular Biology
* Physics
* Veterinary Medicine

Registration is scheduled to open March 1 via the ISA website page: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state4h/events/summeracademies.cfm. (2012 information for ISA will be posted as soon as possible, but no later than March 1). Registration MUST be completed on-line. Academies fill on a first-come, first-served basis. Some Academies do have grade restrictions because of needed high school class requirements and the nature of their Academy topics, however most are open to teens ages 14-18, as of 9/1/2012. Some Academies do not allow repeat attendees. Early-bird fee discounts are available through April 15. Final registration will close May 23.

We also encourage Extension staff to recruit volunteer chaperones for this event or consider attending themselves to assist with the non-Academy program (with County Director approval). We need adult support during the day to help with various aspects of transportation, lunch deliveries, evening program preparations, etc. and need evening support of chaperones. More details are included in the Promotional Packet and ISA Fact Sheet that are mentioned below.

Some promotional materials are currently available on the 4-H Contacts Portal for county/unit use to promote ISA (Events = Statewide = Illini Summer Academies). Those items include:
* Promotional Postcard for ISA Program announcement (Cards are being sent to 2011 attendees.)
* Promotional Packet of Information
* ISA Fact Sheet for Staff
* Promotional Flyer
* 2012 logo and ISA logo for use in newsletters and on your websites
* 4-H Member Scholarship Application (due no later than May 1)
* 2013 ISA Committee Application
* 2013 ISA Committee Information

Additional items will be forthcoming:
* Promotional Brochure
* Newsrelease, 4-H/Extension Newsletter Article, and a Letter to 4-H Volunteers
* Promotional PowerPoint

We hope you will join us in promoting this exciting teen event to high school youth across the state. Please let me know if you have questions about the program!

Posted by Debra Stocker at 2:30 PM | Permalink |
Categories: Employable Youth, ISA, Teens