1. Supporting Family Involvement
Welcome to…
Supporting Family Involvement
Best Practices for 4-H
Welcome to this 4-H volunteer training on Supporting Family Involvement: Best Practices for 4-H.
Last spring our focus was on utilizing committees in 4-H – and now we are highlighting Family Involvement – and how to encourage it within your 4-H efforts.

2. Families… are important teachers for their children
Regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, geographic location, or economic status, families are important teachers for their children.
Families teach children their languages, goals, and values. They engage in education virtually all of the time – through conversations during meals, rides in a vehicle, or simply family time together.

3. Our Reason + Our Method = Our Results
Other adults also have opportunities to teach in non-formal settings.
4-H volunteers and 4-H families have a vital role in positive youth development…helping foster the needs of youth. 
As volunteers, it is our responsibility to be a caring adult in the lives of youth. 
We must provide a safe environment where mastery and an ethic of service can be practiced. 
We support our youth as they determine their 4-H goals and activities. 
We make sure that everyone is included respectfully, while we encourage youth to look to their future. 
As volunteers, we work with youth and families to keep everyone engaged.
We see the benefits as our youth practice and develop key life skills in leadership, citizenship, communications, project skills and knowledge, and personal life management. 
This volunteer training is designed to help you utilize and support one of your best resources – your 4-H families. 3

4. What do you Think Family Involvement Means?
Attending meetings
Bringing snacks
Fund-raising
Chaperoning
Teaching skills
Ask volunteers What do you think family involvement in 4-H means?
Options:
Brainstorm
Pair-up & share
Flip-chart
After they’ve had a chance to discuss, click the mouse to show the following options:
Attending meetings
Bringing snacks
Fund-raising
Chaperoning
Teaching skills
Family involvement also includes following up at home by asking questions and listening.
Do you think that all of these activities represent family involvement? If so, you agree with many parents, caregivers, educators, and other experts. If you think that only some of these activities represent real involvement, then you agree with other parents, caregivers, educators, and experts. In short, there is no agreement on what family involvement means.
But most experts agree that whatever form it takes – family involvement matters.
Whatever form it takes, family involvement matters!

5. Why Encourage Family Involvement?
Academic achievement
Behavior in school
School and work attitudes
Grades
Standardized test scores
Attendance
Homework completion
Researchers have found that when programs were designed to involve parents fully, students achieved more, regardless of their socioeconomic, ethnic, or racial backgrounds or their parents’ levels of education.
In fact, with full parental involvement, disadvantaged children achieved at the same levels as did middle-class children.
While most research concerning family involvement has been done with schools, the benefits of family involvement can also apply to non-formal settings such as 4-H. This is supported by THE 4-H STUDY OF POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: REPORT OF THE FINDINGS FROM THE FIRST FOUR WAVES OF DATA COLLECTION: 2002– Based on the work of Richard M. Lerner, Jacqueline V. Lerner, Erin Phelps, and Colleagues at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.
How have you seen these benefits of family involvement in your 4-H experiences? (pause for responses)

6. Types of Family Involvement
Volunteering
Parenting
Communicating
Supporting Home Learning
Decision Making
Community Involvement
Activity:
Break into small groups and assign groups one type/category of family involvement listed. Have each group discuss an experience they have with that type/category of family involvement relating to 4-H. Share examples. If they are having difficulties thinking of examples, prompt them with examples from those below.
Volunteering: serve as a chaperone on field trips; help with group communication; teach a skill
Parenting: establish age-appropriate expectations for youth; talk with youth about their interests and activities
Communicating: read the 4-H newsletter; review record-keeping skills; ask questions
Supporting home learning: discuss project work with youth; help youth practice their 4-H presentations
Decision making: serve on a 4-H advisory committee; or a County Extension Council; committee guide on the side
Community Involvement: link to community resources, such as fine arts, organizations, or government agencies; encourage participation in community service
Have the groups brainstorm ‘new’ ways to encourage family involvement.

7. What Motivates Families to Become Involved?
Making a difference
Successful programs
Feeling respected
Feeling valued
Receiving training and guidance
Receiving support
You’ve come up with great ideas for encouraging family involvement in 4-H.
We’ll now do an activity to have you think about your own experiences and what motivates you.
Facilitator Instructions: Using Get on the Bus (from Raccoon Circles), have volunteers think about their own experiences and select their personal preference for each factor (the powerpoint animation has motivating factors coming in one at a time) The directions for this activity can be found at : on pages 11 and 12.
Processing
As you can see, there are many different motivating factors within this group
What motivates families may be different
This is what researchers have identified as motivating factors for family involvement. Do these research findings seem to match your personal experiences? Are there other things that motivate you to be involved?

8. Challenges for Family Involvement
No one has asked
Lack time, money, or emotional resources
Feeling of nothing to offer
Understanding how
Language or cultural differences
Youth tell parents not to
While many families are involved with their children’s learning, others are not. Here are a few barriers that prevent some families from becoming involved.
Ask the participants if there are additional barriers not listed.
To help overcome these challenges, two tools are available: the 4-H Parent Participation Survey and Parents Can Help in Our 4-H Club (provide and review hand-outs). These would help families identify the many ways in which they could become involved with the 4-H program.
Ask the participants to share other ways that they have reached out to involve families and how this has been beneficial.

9. Best Practices for Volunteers
Meet and greet families and youth
Share something about yourself
Get to know the family
Show concern for youth and families
This slide highlights several best practices to encourage family involvement
Meet and greet families and youth.
Share something about yourself…such as hobbies, interests, background.
Get to know the family…learn names of family members and other special people in their lives; and their interests, talents, skills.
Show concern for youth and families….reach out to all families – not just those who are already involved; show appreciation for family participation.
What are some ways that you can promote family involvement?
Distribute the ‘Checklist for Volunteers’
Give participants about 5 minutes to fill out this assessment.
(After they’ve finished)
Many of you are already doing a great job of encouraging family involvement. As a result of this assessment, did you learn anything about yourself that surprised you?

10. Encouraging Diversity
Learn about families
Show respect of differences
Provide activities reflective of interests
The Iowa 4-H Youth Development Program is available to all persons regardless of race, color, gender, disability, or national origin. Due to federal law requirements, Extension offices must have a record that all 4-H clubs/units comply with this requirement. This is accomplished through the Compliance Report that is completed by the 4-H volunteer every 3 years (or change of leadership).
Note to facilitators – a revised form will be available this fall from Mitch.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 says we cannot conduct programs for, nor cooperate in conducting programs with any public or private agency, organization, or group that discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national origin in its membership requirements or in any services offered.
The Title IX (nine) of the 1972 Education Amendments states that 4-H clubs/units must be willing to accept members of both genders.
A sincere commitment to family involvement requires that the 4-H program and volunteers welcome all families and that opportunities for involvement be made available to every family, not just those that are easy to reach. Some ways that clubs/activities can be welcoming to all include:
Accessible meeting places and times
Activities that encourage family participation and provide networking opportunities for parents/guardians
Families asked to share recipes of favorite ethnic foods
Provide information in other languages and formats.
Activities that encourage families and youth to share their traditions and culture
Understanding that every family is different and showing respect for those differences
Not only is it our legal obligation to do this, it is also the right thing to do.

11. What is your goal for encouraging family involvement in 4-H?
From this training, what is your goal for encouraging family involvement in 4-H?
Please write down and share (either as large group or partner next to you).
Please also share/discuss your goal and this information with your 4-H youth and families.

12. Summary Family involvement helps youth succeed
Many forms of family involvement are valuable
Volunteers can encourage family involvement
In summary,
Family involvement helps youth succeed
Many forms of family involvement are valuable
Volunteers can encourage family involvement
Any more questions?
We applaud your efforts, energies, and experiences that you’ve shared today. Thank-you for attending and for being a 4-H volunteer.

13. Thank-you!
Citation:
This training was adapted with permission from Supporting Family Involvement in Children’s Learning