4-H NEWS

1-Building Community Inclusion Program Implementation Sites Wanted
National 4-H Council, in partnership with Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF), has funding for up to seven 4-H sites across the nation, including at least two currently involved in the Engaging Youth, Serving Communities program, with a desire to advocate for youth-adult partnerships and change the local, state, or national view of inclusion of youth of all abilities in community programs. This includes youth roles in governance, working in partnership with adults.

This program will enable sites to provide support for inclusion of youth with and without disabilities in program implementation with community awareness activities jointly supported by a local program partner--a community governance group. National 4-H Council will only award funding to 4-H sites. Each selected site will receive an implementation grant of up to $10,000, attend a training focusing on youth/adult partnerships, and receive a copy of the "Youth-Adult Partnerships" curriculum on cd-rom. There is a 100 percent matching funds requirement.

If this opportunity is of interest to you, please submit a letter of inquiry on or before March 26, 2004, providing a sketch of your community issue in brief, thoughts for implementation strategies, proposed partners for the program including the governance group, proposed outcomes, and proposed evaluation strategies. All letters should be sent to: Sally Miske, National 4-H Council, 7100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. E-mail contact is smiske@fourhcouncil.edu.

For a PDF file of the full "Request for Letter of Inquiry" with additional clarification points, please e-mail twexler@fourhcouncil.edu.

2-Building Community Inclusion Program Evaluation Proposals Wanted
National 4-H Council announces the availability of a contract to evaluate its Building Community Inclusion program. Council is seeking a vendor who is currently a faculty member (or a team of faculty/staff) with an accredited Land Grant University or an independent firm with proven credentials to conduct a formal evaluation of the outcomes of this program.

Request for Proposals Due: 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Friday, April 2, 2004

RFP #: U548-020604
Funding Source: National 4-H Council
Length of grant program: 17 months (May 2004 through September 2005)
Length of evaluation contract: 19 months (April 2004 through October 2005)
Contract Amount: Up to $30,000 will be awarded to one vendor to coordinate and conduct a nationwide evaluation of the Building Community Inclusion program.

Evaluation Deadlines: October 31, 2005 evaluation report completed. Vendor is to be available through December 31, 2005 for consultation on construction of final program report.

OVERVIEW:
National 4-H Council requests proposals for evaluation of its Building Community Inclusion program. The purpose of this evaluation is to systematically gather and collect data that reports on project implementation and assesses a set of basic outcomes of the project. The data is to be interpreted and presented in an evaluation report that will be provided to potential funders, policy makers, community leaders, and youth development professionals.

PROGRAM BACKGROUND:
National 4-H Council, in partnership with Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF), will award implementation grants to 4-H sites (estimated at seven) across the nation - including at least two currently involved in the Engaging Youth, Serving Communities program - with a desire to advocate for youth-adult partnerships and change the local, state, or national view of inclusion of youth of all abilities in community programs. Local programs will include youth roles in governance, working in partnership with adults. Each site will receive an implementation grant of up to $10,000, be trained in youth/adult partnerships, and receive a copy of National 4-H Council's Youth-Adult Partnerships curriculum.

The program will enable sites to provide support for inclusion of youth with and without disabilities in program implementation with community awareness activities jointly supported by a local program partner--a community governance group. The community governance group could be a youth service council, county fair board, 4 H or other youth organization executive board, county government and city council committee, school board or other school-based committee.

With skills learned during the youth/adult partnership training, using the Youth-Adult Partnerships curriculum as a reference, and inclusive practices for community programs, the governance group and the youth participants will work together to develop strategies and implement action plans to create an environment of inclusion for youth of all abilities to take action in their communities. Each prospective site must connect with and gain written commitment from a local governance group for the implementation of this program.

All letters should be sent to: Sally Miske, National 4-H Council, 7100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. E-mail contact is smiske@fourhcouncil.edu.

For a PDF file of the full "Request for Proposals" please e-mail twexler@fourhcouncil.edu.

RESOURCES AND OPPORUNITIES

3-Take A Stand. Lend and Hand. Stop Bullying Now! Launches
This Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) National Bullying Prevention Campaign launched on March 1, 2004. Beyond raising awareness, the campaign will inspire effective bullying prevention efforts at the state and local level in the areas of education, health and safety, law enforcement, mental health, youth organizations and other key constituencies with specific information about best practices and critical next steps that should be pursued.

A national video teleconference is being held on April 19, 2004 from 7:30-9:00pm EDT will illustrate how the concepts described in campaign materials can be implemented successfully at the school and community levels. A key message of the teleconference is that schools and organizations must work together in bullying prevention activities.

To find out more about the campaign and obtain educational resources go to www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov. To become a host site for the videoconference or to find out who's hosting in your area, e-mail lisa.procher@widmeyer.com.