Community Capacity Building

Situation Statment 
Douglas County is rich with civic and governmental bodies, providing abundant opportunities for community members to exercise their civic muscle. Once established in community organizations, board members of these bodies often serve multiple organizations expanding the reach of their service and further enriching their own experience in the community. Entry into service in this capacity can be daunting, though. While each civic and governmental body likely has its own nuances, there is a set of shared values and principles for civic board service. Currently, no effort in Douglas County aims to equip residents to confidently serve these bodies.

Objective 
Provide formal training for Douglas County civic and governmental bodies’ board members and community members seeking opportunities of board service.

Metrics
1. Number of civic and governmental bodies who require training for their
     board members
2. Evaluation data from training participants assessing increases in their
      knowledge and confidence
3. Funding generated from programmatic activity
4. Underserved audiences reached 

Activities
• Staff and members of the Community Development Program Development Committee will work to equip themselves with the knowledge necessary to deliver the K-State Research and Extension Welcome-A-Board Signature Program – a series of 14 lessons that can be delivered a la carte or as a packaged program over the course of 4 sessions.
          o Broker a partnership with the Douglas County Community
              Foundation to aid in securing program participants and delivery
          o Initiate a comprehensive communications campaign to create
              awareness of the program
          o Deliver the program as a series at least annually toward the
              beginning of the year
          o Create evaluation mechanisms for short-, medium-, and long-term
              outcome evaluation 
Outcomes
• Civic and governmental boards demonstrate effectiveness with an 
   increased understanding of roles, responsibilities, and decorum
• Civic and governmental boards’ demographics more closely reflect the
   communities they serve
• Establishment of a Center for Board Excellence 

 

Douglas County 4-H Youth Development 

Situation Statment 
The most common misconception of the 4-H program is that it is primarily agricultural and rural-focused. This misconception, in addition to the traditional 4-H experience may limit growth to new and underserved audiences. Other barriers youth may experience to participate in 4-H programs may be affordability, program scheduling, and transportation.

Objective
To develop cross-curricular and cross-project opportunities by working collaboratively with youth-serving organizations in Douglas County to provide a 4-H experience to all youth. Utilize technology to communicate and deliver educational programs and capitalize on the visibility of 4-H at the Douglas County Fair to engage new audiences.
  
Metrics
1. Number of youth programs offered
2. Number of participants in 4-H programs/experiences
3. Contact Hours
4. Demographic Data
5. Level of youth participating in civic engagement
          a. Volunteer Hours
          b. Member of school/community organizations
          c. Leadership Roles
 
Activities 
1. 4-H School Enrichment Programs
2. 4-H Day Camp Programming
3. 4-H Educational Workshops
4. 4-H After-School Programming
5. Douglas County Fair
 
Outcomes
1. Increased 4-H participation from underserved youth audiences
2. Increased 4-H participation from urban youth audiences
3. Increase the level of collaboration with youth-serving organizations in   
     Douglas County to expand 4-H audiences.
4. Douglas County youth develop into successful, productive community 
     members through positive 4-H experiences.  

Family & Consumer Science 

Situation Statement
The Douglas County community has several agencies and organizations working collaboratively to improve health equity. Community factors contributing to health include housing, access to healthy foods, employment, child abuse, and environment. While community efforts for improving health equity exist, food security continues to be a challenge facing limited-resourced individuals and families in Douglas County. According to Feeding America, in 2020 the food insecurity rate in Douglas County was 11.5%. The pandemic, disruptions to the food supply chain, and inflation have contributed to increased food insecurity rates since 2020. 

Objective
To serve limited-income individuals and families in Douglas County by providing nutrition education. To work collaboratively with community partners to improve access to healthy food for Douglas County residents facing food insecurity.  

Metrics
1. KSRE demographic data
2. Level of participation in SNAP-Ed programs
3. Level of engagement with community partners for collaborative efforts
 
Activities
1. Create Better Health Program
2. Teen Cuisine
3. LiveWell- Healthy Kids and Healthy Food for All Blue Cross Blue Shield
     Pantry Pathway Projects
4. Douglas County Food Resources Guide
5. Master Food Volunteer Program
6. Walk Kansas
7. Food Preservation Workshops
8. KSDE Youth Summer Programs 

Outcomes
1. Increase fruit, vegetable, and lean protein consumption. Planning for
    meals and shopping from a list. Practice safe food prep and storage.
    Increase physical activity.
2. Increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetable options offered by
    each food pantry.
3. Increase volunteer capacity to provide educational food programming.
4. To organize and host events to expand community reach and awareness
     of the master food volunteer organization.
5. To adopt safe and research-based food preservation methods.   

Land Stewardship

Situation Statment 
While Douglas County Extension strives to provide landowners with information on best practices to sustainably care for their land, the resources we provide are scattered among different program areas within Extension and among our partnership organizations. Some existing resources are ill-defined or outdated and there are gaps in the information that landowners need and request. Populations served include new and existing rural landowners, commercial agricultural producers, non-profit landowners (e.g. universities, school district), and municipal landowners. 

Objective
Provide contemporary land stewardship services and resources to the residents of Douglas County. 

Metrics
1. Updated published and indexed resources (online and/or printed) 
     specifically designed for Dg. Co. landowners
2. Number of landowner contacts, producers, and non-producers
3. Collection and sharing of resources available from Extension and
    partner agencies 
 
Activities
 • Conduct a county-wide assessment of available services for rural
    landowners and agricultural producers as distinct populations
• Analyze whether available services represent best practices
• Hold focus groups of targeted populations to assess their priorities
• Work with Dg. Co. Planning Department to analyze and understand
   current and potential county land ownership
• Build a network of service providers to increase awareness among these
   agencies of the services they provide and allow for increased referrals
• Evaluate how target audiences want to receive information which may
   lead to some innovative approaches to programming and information
   delivery
• Explore the use of technology to improve access to, and understanding
   of resources

Outcomes
• New landowners understand that Dg. Co. Extension is a trusted resource 
   for their questions about “living in the country”.
• Extension staff have best practice information for rural landowners