Oklahoma State University Sustainable Community Project - The United We Can: Positive Youth Development Program is sponsored by Oklahoma State University. Aims to provide positive youth development opportunities for middle school students in Tulsa Public Schools, focusing on STEM, agriculture, and health education.

CYFAR Community Grantees | Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk (CYFAR) Sustainable Community Project Grantees represent a variety of communities across the United States and territories. Grantees are selected through a grant application process each year.

The funds are used to improve the quality and quantity of comprehensive community-based programs for at-risk children, youth, and families supported by the Cooperative Extension System. Additional information about CYFAR and the CYFAR grant process can be found on the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture website . Funded projects are listed below.

Note: Different grant descriptions may use different terms to describe participants for which multiple terms exist. For example, terms such as Latinx, Latin@, Latino/a, or Latino may be used to describe participants in Sustainable Community Projects, all being potentially acceptable descriptors depending on participant identification.

This decision to forgo the use of a single, uniform term across grants follows the suggestion by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) that the term with which participants most identify be used to describe them.

Alaska: Growing Knowledgeable and Health-Conscious Generation in Alaska University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Sustainable Community Project – Growing Knowledgeable and Health-Conscious Generation in Alaska The Growing Strong Program is a 4-H club designed to improve youth and family physical activity and eating behaviors and nutrition and plant science knowledge.

The program uses evidence-based curricula, including Learn, Grow, Eat, & Go! and Junior Master Gardener . Youth participating in these curricula have shown a reduction in BMI and improved eating and physical activity behaviors, and families have increased gardening, meal preparation, and family meals.

Youth meet weekly for activities including fall and spring school vegetable gardens, student garden journals and blogging, fresh vegetable tastings, easy vegetable recipe demonstrations they can then take home, preparation and participation in 4-H food contests, family stories aligned with Alaska Teaching Standards, and family nights.

Additional opportunities include the Walk Across Alaska program, home engagement activities, and family newsletters. Youth have ongoing opportunities as officers and youth leaders. The program reaches both youth and parents through activities and leadership opportunities.

Marla Lowder, University of Alaska Fairbanks Arizona: Reducing Family Stress The University of Arizona Reducing Family Stress Sustainable Community Project uses a two-generation approach grounded in the Family Stress Model, recognizing that economic stressors contribute to challenges in parenting.

This project uses a multifaceted program model alongside research-based curricula (e.g., Positive Discipline of Teens and Building Financial Security ) and experiential learning to foster positive parent–child interactions, improve the emotional and financial well-being of families, and increase positive parenting practices that support financial socialization within the family unit.

The program enhances family connectedness to community resources by promoting connections between families and the local support system and helps develop opportunities for positive youth development through 4-H programming.

This CYFAR program serves 60–70 families annually with family-centered and community-engaged programming that emphasizes positive parenting of teens, financial literacy, youth financial education, and community connectedness. Educators provide instruction in English and Spanish, and materials are available in both languages. Best practices in program delivery are followed.

The Community Research, Evaluation, and Development team at the University of Arizona provides program evaluation oversight. Sustainability focuses on developing long-term relationships with Extension for continued outreach and fostering the development of 4-H clubs.

Daniel McDonald, University of Arizona Arizona: FARMacy: A Prescription for a Healthier Community University of Arizona – FARMacy: A Prescription for a Healthier Community The FARMacy is a teen-facilitated produce prescription program that develops teens’ expertise in managing regularly scheduled, full-scale community events that promote nutrition in the community.

The program combines youth leadership development with education on nutrition and food use. It is tailored to the needs of teens in the community and engages them in projects that provide skills and opportunities to be leaders in improving the health and well-being of others.

Teens participate in leadership development activities focused on seed-to-table nutrition, including hosting large community education and activity events for families. These events provide opportunities to engage community members of all ages in harvesting from gardens, preparing produce, cooking produce, sampling new produce, and operating retail farmers markets.

The program also offers teens the opportunity to share their experience and expertise with peers to adapt the HLA (Healthy Living Ambassador) FARMacy model to another community site, creating a blueprint for statewide expansion.

Elizabeth Sparks, University of Arizona Colorado: Sustainable Community Project for a Family-Inclusive Lifestyle Program for Teenagers in Rural Colorado Sustainable Community Project for a Family-Inclusive Lifestyle Program for Teenagers in Rural Colorado The Healthy Living Program (HeLP) / La Vida Saludable is an evidence-based, community-delivered, whole-family program designed to support mental health and healthy weight for teens from families with limited income.

HeLP was designed for dissemination, meaning it develops community-based programs from research knowledge through systematic incorporation of input at each stage of design and implementation. This approach increases feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, and sustainability. HeLP includes teen, parent/caregiver, and family components across four key modules.

The teen component includes group exercise training and group mindfulness training for stress management. School-age siblings participate in exercise training, and preschool-age siblings participate in a food exposure experience to encourage acceptance of healthy foods.

The parent/caregiver component includes education and tools (e.g., goal setting, structure) to support family lifestyle change with participation open to all caregivers (e.g., parents, grandparents). The family component involves skill-building through hands-on cooking, meal planning, shopping, and family mealtime with all family members included.

Lauren Shomaker, Colorado State University Idaho/Washington: DIVE4Tech DIVE4Tech Joint Sustainable Community Project: A University of Idaho and Washington State University Collaboration This project focuses on increasing high school graduation rates and college aspirations for teens while also building workforce readiness, technology skills, resilience, and protective factors that support success.

DIVE4Tech’s goals are to improve student attendance and grades, strengthen student engagement in schools and communities, increase family involvement, expand teen use of technology for developing workforce skills, and increase the percentage of participating students graduating from high school and pursuing higher education.

The project works through four core areas that have been shown to consistently promote and improve academic success: parental involvement, success coaching and case management, 4-H clubs, and college visits. Youth in Grades 6–12 (Ages 11–19) will be served over a 5-year period.

Judith McShane, University of Idaho Nancy Deringer, Washington State University Purdue University – Indiana CYFAR Sustainable Community Project – Juntos Juntos Indiana will provide youth and their parents in Indiana communities with resources covering 4-H Life Skills , dropout prevention, mental health, academic success, and preparation for both workforce and college opportunities.

Casey Mull, Purdue University Iowa: Fostering Latino Youth Career and College Readiness Iowa State University Sustainable Community Project: Fostering Latino Youth Career and College Readiness The Fostering Latino Youth Career and College Readiness Program supports eighth grade students (Ages 13–14; early adolescence) who are at risk for not graduating from high school.

The program engages youth in structured, high-contact activities to gain the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to pursue paths that prepare them for careers and college. The Pathways for Our Future model will be implemented at two sites and builds upon the success of a previous Iowa CYFAR SCP, the research-based ¡Salir Adelante!

curriculum, and the 4-H Careers Pathway Academy, which is based on the national 4-H Build Your Future curriculum. During the 1st year of enrollment, youth and their parents or caregivers engage in 52–65 hours of in-depth, sequenced education to explore career and college pathways.

In the 2nd and future years of enrollment, youth participate in long-term engagement through 4-H clubs and other 4-H youth development opportunities (35–50 hours annually). Youth enrolled in Year 1 will participate in 192–265 hours of Extension programs over the project period.

Siblings and extended family members are invited to activities to foster support for the student’s continuation in the project and to introduce families to other Extension programs (e.g., young children to 4-H Clover Kids; parents to Familias Fuertes).

Kimberly Greder, Iowa State University Louisiana: Teens Leading Change CYFAR Teens Leading Change Teens Leading Change is a coalition of teen leaders in Jefferson and Orleans Parishes focused on improving community policies, systems, and environments. Teens develop leadership and teaching skills that support the formation and growth of community partnerships. At least one major project is completed by the coalitions each year.

These projects are selected and led by the teens with guidance from Extension and community staff. Examples of community improvements include park and playground enhancements, policies that expand healthy options in schools, and collaborations with local stores to stock fresh fruits and vegetables.

Coalition or working group meetings are held weekly, and teens engage with multiple community partners each year to ensure that meaningful and lasting improvements are achieved. As a long-term result, the groups will create sustainable changes related to health and activity in their communities while documenting procedures and lessons learned.

This model will be shared publicly and replicated in Extension programs across Louisiana and the region.

Claire Zak, Louisiana State University Maine: 4-H Community Central: Supporting Youth Thriving Through Discovery and Relationships Maine 4-H Community Central: Supporting Youth Thriving Through Discovery and Relationships The Maine 4-H Community Central: Supporting Youth Thriving Through Discovery and Relationships program fosters personal growth, leadership, and community connections among middle school youth in Lewiston and Portland, Maine.

Through partnerships with local schools, community organizations, and faith-based groups, the program integrates quality out-of-school time programming, mentoring, and ecological systems theory to enhance youth development. The program engages middle school students (Grades 6–8, Ages 11–14) and 110 high school mentors (Grades 9–12, Ages 14–19) over 5 years.

Middle school youth participate in weekly sessions focused on self-discovery, peer relationships, and community engagement, building confidence, communication skills, and awareness of their strengths. High school mentors develop workforce skills and leadership abilities by facilitating workshops and supporting younger peers.

The program emphasizes the importance of a supportive environment for youth development, drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory.

Kristy Ouellette, University of Maine Maryland: Addressing Youth Mental Health of Latinx Families by Strengthening Family-Skills and Engaging in Sports Addressing Youth Mental Health of Latinx Families by Strengthening Family-Skills and Engaging in Sports This project aims to improve youth mental health by strengthening healthy parenting practices, supporting positive youth development, and engaging youth in organized sports.

The project brings together three interrelated programs: the Family-Skills program to strengthen parenting practices; Your Thoughts Matter: Navigating Mental Health ; and the Padres Preparados, Jóvenes Saludables program, which promotes positive youth development and engages youth in soccer practices.

The program Your Thoughts Matter: Navigating Mental Health , designed for adolescents between 10 and 14 years old, is a 4-H national resource. Its goal is to increase awareness of how many people are affected by mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. The second program, Padres Preparados, Jóvenes Saludables , focuses on strengthening prosocial competencies.

The project emphasizes building youth skills in communication, conflict management, and identity along with encouraging healthy energy balance behaviors.

Ghaffar Hurtado Choque, University of Maryland Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin: Building Menominee Teen Resilience Building Menominee Teen Resilience This project will utilize Teen Mental Health First Aid and Discovery Dating as evidence-based intervention delivery systems to support long-term prevention of substance misuse and to encourage healthy relationships.

Both service providers and teens will receive these tools to increase their capacity to respond effectively to challenges and to help prevent overdoses and suicides among classmates, friends, and family members. Trainings will be held for high school students and youth-serving staff in two communities: Keshena and Neopit. Each site will have a youth advisory board.

An annual youth summit will be conducted to increase awareness of teen mental health, substance misuse, and healthy relationships—an idea developed by local youth. Multiple programs are integrated into this project to provide the resources needed to break cycles of addiction and promote long-term well-being.

Brian Kowalkowski, College of Menominee Nation Minnesota: FDLTCC Bimaaji'idiwin (Saving Each Other's Lives) FDLTCC Bimaaji'idiwin (Saving Each Other's Lives) Harvest Sustainable Community Project Focusing on “leadership through harvest,” the Bimaaji'idiwin SCP builds on the strength of multigenerational learning and community that is central to Anishinaabe tradition.

Using the connecting thread of harvest—through both traditional cultural events and agricultural production—project staff will work with community sites to engage youth and build skills that support resilience. Programming aligns with the National CYFAR Teen Outcome and emphasizes connecting teens to community, tradition, and skills that contribute to positive leadership.

This project highlights the value of incorporating traditional activities into outreach programs as a protective factor for community well-being. These activities support wellness in a holistic sense, recognizing the balance between tradition, language, and community.

Courtney Kowalczak, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Minnesota: Ka Joog 4-H Leadership Clubs Minnesota and North Dakota Joint CYFAR Sustainable Community Project: Ka Joog 4-H Leadership Clubs The Ka Joog 4-H Leadership Program Model focuses on youth topics of interest (sparks), leadership development, and college and career readiness.

The clubs are facilitated by two adults from the Somali community, meet weekly during the school year, and provide structured opportunities for youth to engage in immersive learning and showcase experiences related to secondary and postsecondary education as well as potential career opportunities.

The program supports Somali-American teens and families in rural areas by offering opportunities that build on their strengths and provide structured ways for youth to explore college and career options in various industries.

The North Dakota and Minnesota 4-H CYFAR team designed this model using a community collaborative approach that addresses the multiple environments influencing youth development, with the goal of helping youth succeed in their education and careers.

Kari Robineau​​​​​​​, University of Minnesota Missouri: 4-H Youth Futures Hopeful Pathways Project 4-H Youth Futures Hopeful Pathways Project Through the 4-H Youth Futures Hopeful Pathways Project, the University of Missouri SCP aims to inspire and prepare middle and high school youth (Ages 13–18) for postsecondary education and career opportunities.

Developed in collaboration with the University of Missouri Extension and Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, the program offers participants the inspiration, information, and opportunities needed to achieve their goals. The program focuses on building self-awareness, exploring educational and career pathways, enhancing financial literacy, and developing essential life skills through a structured curriculum.

Youth meet weekly after school, forming strong, supportive relationships with peers and mentors that contribute to personal and academic growth. Short-term goals include helping youth identify and aspire to postsecondary opportunities, strengthening positive relational connections, and improving self-efficacy.

Long-term goals include increasing enrollment and completion rates in higher education and technical certifications and equipping participants for success in future careers. Each site will serve approximately 25 participants, supported by trained staff and mentors who facilitate the program.

The updated curriculum includes high-impact experiences such as college field trips and integrates intentional self-regulation practices to help youth navigate their personal pathways. The program is delivered through a collaborative community approach, using technology for communication and resource sharing.

Sustainability is supported through the Missouri 4-H Foundation, community partnerships, and integration into broader Missouri 4-H initiatives. Community sites include Independence, St. Louis, and Anderson, selected to expand access where youth needs are greatest.

Kellie Seals, University of Missouri Montana: Social, Emotional, and Physical Wellness for Rural and Native American Youth Montana Sustainable Communities: Social, Emotional, and Physical Wellness for Rural and Native American Youth The Social, Emotional, and Physical Health and Wellness program model provides at-risk youth with tools to increase and enhance social and emotional learning.

Youth learn coping skills, increase emotional intelligence, address and solve social problems, and build leadership and life skills. The model includes training for youth related to mental health using the Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM) curriculum. It increases students’ knowledge about depression and anxiety, enhances coping skills and emotional resiliency, and reduces suicidal ideation and attempts.

The program model was previously adapted for youth in Montana including Native Americans. YAM is taught to freshmen in a health enhancement class as part of the regular school curriculum.

The CYFAR project will bring together Extension professionals, school administrators and educators, students, and community organizations and businesses through four pathways: (a) formal youth education by Extension professionals (YAM); (b) informal enrichment programs led by school educators (e.g., technology clubs); (c) informal, out-of-school-time programs led by Extension professionals to help guide peer and leadership groups as they develop activities related to social, emotional, and physical health and wellness; and (d) outreach and engagement to community organizations and businesses.

The YAM training for youth occurs first, followed by approximately 15–20 weeks of 4-H after-school meetings during which the peer and leadership group develops an in-depth plan to reach out to their respective communities to engage organizations and businesses in a campaign to increase awareness of social, emotional, and physical health and wellness issues.

The technology club will then meet during lunch or after school for approximately 15–20 weeks to develop technology in support of the community campaign (i.e., a phone app and QR code; an online magazine; and acrylic, laser-cut tokens).

Mark Schure, Montana State University Shana Henry, Stone Child College Nebraska: Youth Civic Engagement: Using Simulations and Design Thinking Youth Civic Engagement: Using Simulations and Design Thinking An engaging and innovative learning program including online simulations and design thinking will provide civics, entrepreneurship, and leadership education to at-risk youth in two of the most highly impoverished communities with large racial and ethnic minority populations in Nebraska (Douglas and Scotts Bluff Counties).

This project incorporates two evidence-based curricula adapted for use in a 20-hour summer camp: iCivics, which uses online gaming simulations to promote citizenship and civic engagement, and Lean LaunchPad®, an experiential learning tool to improve problem-solving skills. Participants will be comprised of seventh- and eighth-grade youth in the selected sites.

Program topics and the age range were selected based on the project team's prior research and experience in Extension programming, which pointed to lack of civic engagement and need for a sense of community as critical social issues affecting individuals and as barriers to community revitalization in high-poverty communities with large ethnic minority populations.

The program objectives are to promote youths’ civic knowledge and skills, attitude, and behavioral engagement and to increase community capacity that leads to sustaining this program. A mixed-methods longitudinal panel design will be used to measure program outcomes at baseline and follow-up assessments. Focus group interviews will be conducted at the end of each program year.

The team will develop a pilot curriculum and test feasibility in Year 1, refine the curriculum in Year 2, expand the program in Year 3, adapt the curriculum for the after-school model in Year 4, and integrate the program into 4-H Extension programming in Year 5.

Evan Choi, University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nevada: Enriching Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for Kids and Families University of Nevada, Reno Sustainable Community Project: Enriching Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for Kids and Families Enriching Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for Kids and Families builds on two award-winning University of Nevada, Reno Extension parent engagement program models ( Family Storyteller and Let’s Discover STEM ) that focus on school readiness, early school success, foundational academic knowledge, parenting skills, and homeschool connections.

A pilot program with elements of the model was tested between 2014–2015 and 2017–2018. This CYFAR proposal expands these models by (a) focusing on SEL-related school readiness skills and family mental health, (b) engaging parents and children together, and (c) reaching families in areas with limited income.

YaeBin Kim, University of Nevada, Reno New Jersey: Preparing the Next Generation of Urban Food and Agriculture Changemakers Preparing the Next Generation of Urban Food and Agriculture Changemakers Preparing the Next Generation of Urban Food and Agriculture Changemakers is a 13-month leadership and skill-building program to engage urban teens in community-based food systems education and urban agriculture.

Working collaboratively with Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty and staff and community partners, the project team will implement Changemakers in Jersey City and Camden, New Jersey. The project will empower youth to learn about local food systems through urban agriculture and by working with and in their communities.

This program builds on successful models that focus on urban agriculture and emphasizes food access, food use, and health. Through hands-on instruction, teens will also gain leadership skills as they plan and implement a food systems action plan and contribute to their communities.

Sharon Kinsey, Rutgers State University North Carolina: Robots, Energy, and Agriscience Robots, Energy, and Agriscience: Advancing Equity and STEM Growth Mindset in Rural STEM Education The proposed project will bring together a multidisciplinary team of professionals from two land-grant universities, one Cooperative Extension System, and four local education agencies to serve middle school youth, their teachers, nonformal educators, and families by transferring knowledge and technology to increase STEM literacy and civic engagement through formal and informal implementation of peer-reviewed, research-based 4-H curricula.

Autumn Cano-Guin, North Carolina State University Misty Blue-Terry, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University North Dakota: Building Community Capacity and Resilience Through 4-H in ND Tribal Nations Building Community Capacity and Resilience Through 4-H in ND Tribal Nation The program model for Building Community Capacity and Resilience Through 4-H in North Dakota Tribal Nations is a 4-H science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics development program for rural Native American North Dakota youth at four community sites.

The Circle of Courage Model will be followed to provide youth with a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity through educational activities using the culturally relevant themes of past, present, and future.

Diane Hahn, North Dakota State University Heidi Ziegenmeyer, Cankdeska Cikana Community College Ohio: Promoting and Enhancing Positive Youth Development in Rural Ohio Through Evidence-Based School Program Initiatives Promoting and Enhancing Positive Youth Development in Rural Ohio Through Evidence-Based School Program Initiatives This project implements a suite of evidence-based programs built around Mind Matters , a school-based program delivered during the normal school day that helps strengthen youth resilience.

In addition, after-school programming (e.g., Active Parenting for caregivers, a 4-H special interest club for youth, and community messaging around resilience) will enhance family and community support. Previous projects using this model have demonstrated that, through positive youth development programs, participants experience increases in protective factors and resilience (Constantine et al. , 1999).

The project will focus on youth in Scioto County, Ohio, who face significant challenges associated with poverty and the loss of caregivers and family members due to unintentional drug overdoses. Enhancing healthy life skills at this stage of development will increase the likelihood of healthy and productive lives. The aim is to provide youth with protective factors at the school and community levels to strengthen resilience.

Michael Betz, The Ohio State University Ohio/Virginia: Bridge2Health Bridge2Health: An Intergenerational Mentoring Program Bridge2Health uses intergenerational approaches to programming in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Amherst County, Virginia. The youth participants include teenagers, approximately half of whom are in foster and/or kinship (e.g., grandparent) care.

Older adult participants include community volunteers affiliated with a community partner. Annual cohorts of paired teen and older adult mentors engage in a train-the-trainer model wherein participants first build skills with age peers and then with intergenerational partners before engaging in community outreach.

Curricula are Extension and 4-H approved, evidence based, responsive to student interests, and aligned with CYFAR principles such as the Teen Leadership 20 and Youth Engaged in Learning about Leadership curricula.

The Bridge2Health curriculum is designed to help teens build skills described in the USDA Science Blueprint Theme 5: Ag Science Policy Leadership, Beacon for Science objective: "contribute to safer, healthier, vibrant, sustainable, and innovative communities." Teens build these skills and experience belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity by engaging in evidence-based curricula that incorporate intergenerational strategies.

By engaging teens and older adults as partners in identifying needs and strengths they can jointly address through bidirectional mentoring, this project anticipates short-term outcomes that include formation of supportive relationships, reinforcement of positive social norms, and strengthened sense of belonging. Long-term outcomes include teen skill building and resilience.

The two communities, working with The Ohio State University Extension and Virginia Cooperative Extension, will have better coordinated, sustainable services reflecting community needs.

Shannon Jarrott, Ohio State University Crystal Tyler-Mackey, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Oklahoma: United We Can: Positive Youth Development Program Oklahoma State University Sustainable Community Project United We Can: Positive Youth Development Program Oklahoma Cooperative Extension’s United We Can: Positive Youth Program is an evidence-based program with empirically confirmed results in academic achievement and workforce preparation.

The three aims are improving parental involvement in school, enhancing youth self-efficacy and social emotional learning, and creating a sense of belonging in a school and among a group of positively focused peers.

These aims are accomplished through five weekly parent educational workshops, thirty success coaching sessions between a caring adult and a youth, eight weekly summer activities that expose youth to career and educational opportunities, and the formation of a local project advisory committee to guide sustainability efforts and expose youth to community leaders.

Youth in the United We Can program improved academic outcomes (grades, absences, detentions, and suspensions) and showed statistically significant increases in parental involvement in children's schooling, youth and parent academic expectations, youth self-efficacy and STEM involvement, and family cohesion and decreases in negative peer affiliations and youth drug use.

Parent attendance at parent–teacher conferences also increased to 98% across sites.

Ronald Cox, Oklahoma State University Rhode Island: Project StRIde: Science and Technology Reinforced by Innovative Dietary Education With Rhode Island Youth Project StRIde: Science and Technology Reinforced by Innovative Dietary Education With Rhode Island Youth The University of Rhode Island Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk Sustainable Communities Project, Project StRIde: Science and Technology Reinforced by Innovative Dietary Education with Rhode Island Youth, is an ambitious 5-year initiative to deliver an out-of-school program to low-income urban Rhode Island youth (Grades 3–5; n=600: n=300 program, n=300 control) and their families to address two critical overarching disparities: the science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) academic achievement gap and dietary behaviors/food-related skills.

To achieve this goal, the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension network and key community partners in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, will deliver and sustain an interdisciplinary, STEAM-focused food literacy outreach program consisting of (a) a 6-week summer camp program emphasizing experiential and technology-enhanced learning and civic engagement, (b) a four-part family night program, and (c) an Annual Youth Food Summit.

Sarah Amin, University of Rhode Island Katie Balestracci, University of Rhode Island South Dakota/North Dakota: Strengthening the Heartland: Promoting Life Readiness in Rural Youth Strengthening the Heartland: Promoting Life Readiness in Rural Youth Given the aging workforce in rural North and South Dakota, mentally healthy youth who possess life skills are critical to filling the expected increase in vacancies in the future workforce.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, such as emotion regulation and self-awareness, reduce anxiety, allowing youth to combat stress and focus on life readiness skills needed in the workplace. To promote life readiness, the current project will implement an SEL program followed by a life readiness curriculum in six communities in North and South Dakota.

School counselors will facilitate Second Step in middle schools through weekly SEL lessons that include media-based content and hands-on activities. Ninth graders will then attend a career camp at a land-grant university in their state to introduce careers in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences during workshops facilitated by Extension professionals.

Promotion of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences and the skills needed in those careers will continue through a high school life readiness curriculum with lessons created by Extension professionals. Youth will be evaluated at the beginning and end of each year for changes in SEL skills and workforce preparation.

The promotion of SEL and life readiness is expected to develop healthy, productive youth capable of contributing to an aging workplace.

Amber Letcher, South Dakota State University Tennessee: University of Tennessee Extension – Sustainable Community Project University of Tennessee Extension – Sustainable Community Project The mission of the University of Tennessee's Sustainable Communities Project is to enhance educational curricula, develop linkages to support families, and provide technical assistance and training for after-school staff.

The project focuses on middle-school-age youth and seeks to improve their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary for fulfilling, contributing lives.

The program targets high-risk, school-age youth and their families who are experiencing trauma-inducing environments, academically challenged, potential dropouts, more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors, and lacking prosocial and emotional learning skills and strong positive role models. The sites the project serves have a large number of children who live in poverty.

The primary content focuses on three areas: (a) social and emotional learning; (b) students’ academics through science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) agriculture, STEM nutrition, STEM robotics, and STEM engineering programming; and (c) intensive family engagement programming. Nonacademic content, such as leadership, decision-making, positive relationships, and increased self-work, is also stressed.

The philosophy of this project believes youth must first address their social and emotional needs before academic gains can occur. Matthew Devereaux, University of Tennessee Texas: Prairie View A&M University Sustainable Community Project Prairie View A&M University Sustainable Community Project This project is a dropout prevention and college preparation program for youth and their parents in Texas.

The program’s goal is to help youth enter higher education and then the workforce. Juntos builds resilience among teens and their families through parent involvement, life skills development, one-on-one coaching, and connections with caring adults.

This evidence-based program includes a curriculum for parents and teens built around four wraparound components: (a) family engagement, (b) monthly individualized success coaching with each student by a local Juntos site coordinator, (c) after-school Juntos 4-H club meetings and activities, and (d) a week-long summer college experience.

The focus is on increasing the number of students pursuing postsecondary education; exploring college majors; and developing interest in science, technology, engineering, math, and agriculture careers. These goals will be met by improving student attendance and grades in school, strengthening student engagement in their schools and communities, increasing family involvement, expanding teens’ use of technology,