Into the Barn and Out of Trouble, Connecting Juvenile Court Youth to the 4-H Program Through a 4-H Club Experience

Connecting teens in the juvenile court system to caring adults and community programs is a challenge in any county. However bringing the youth participants to 4-H lays the foundation to begin relationship building, networking, community awareness, life skills development and increase success for the future. There was a need for youth participating in the juvenile court community service program to engage and get involved in a community organization after participating in mandatory community service hours. OSU Extension and juvenile court partnered in 2017 to design and charter a 4-H club for youth from the Clinton County Juvenile Court. A club was established for kids who had participated or were currently in a mandated court sentence through the juvenile court. Youth ages 12-18 are required to complete service hours as a result of court sanctions. The youth had very limited access to activities outside of school due to a lack of support from home and limited financial resources. The 4-H club created an place for youth to begin learning how to be an active participant in the community while participating in a pro-social activity. Participants would receive hands-on involvement and experimental learning in a 4-H club setting. The goal was to design a 4-H club to bring at-risk youth from the juvenile court system into the 4-H program to provide an environment and resources to help the youth members develop positive life skills, increase their self-confidence and desire to get involved and to make a positive impact in the community. The club offered livestock projects with a focus on swine. The club met monthly, but the members had to provide daily care for the market swine projects. Members had to attend six club meetings to learn about 4-H, club structure and service. The members had to complete a 4-H project book and attend required project events. The team had to secure funding, meeting locations, identify and train volunteers, locate additional partners and a site to house the three projects. Transportation had to be arranged and parent/legal guardian support was required. The members had to spend at least five hours with the projects each week. The club operated from February to July. The members had the opportunity to attend 4-H camp, county swine clinic, the swine start-up program, natural resources camp, and the Clinton County Fair. The members increased their involvement outside the home and performed better in school. Each member worked one-on-one with a 4-H volunteer and formed positive relationships. Increased community awareness was observed and positive contacts were made between community members and the youth members. One of the members received job placement after the 4-H season because of the relationships built with adults while in the 4-H club. One member has plans to pursue a degree after graduation from encouragement from adult volunteers and sponsor organization contacts.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Tracie Montague, OSU Extension educator, 4-H youth development, montague.18@osu.edu (Corresponding Author)Connecting teens in the juvenile court system to caring adults and community programs is a challenge. However bringing the youth to 4-H lays the foundation to begin relationship building, networking, community awareness, life skills development, and increase success for the future. There was a need for youth in the juvenile court community service program to engage in a community organization after participating in mandatory community service hours. Youth ages 12-18 were required to complete service because of truancy, supervision or probation. Students entering the program had little or no support networks. The 4-H members had limited access to activities outside of school due to lack of support from home and financial resources. A partnership between OSU Extension and the Clinton County Juvenile Court established a program for youth to begin learning how to be an active participant in the community while participating in a pro-social activity