The NDSU Center for 4-H Youth Development has been awarded a $113,753 grant from the National 4-H Council for the 4-H Tribal Youth National Mentoring Program.
The grant will implement the 4-H Mentoring: Youth and Families With Promise program on the Standing Rock, Fort Berthold and Turtle Mountain reservations in North Dakota. Rachelle Vettern, NDSU Extension leadership/volunteer development specialist and assistant professor in the College of Human Development and Education, is providing leadership for the project, with local Extension staff responsible for its implementation.
Local staff are Sue Isbell, Extension agent in Sioux County; Elise Regen, Extension agent, and Carol Enno, nutrition education assistant, for Fort Berthold; and Karen Armstrong and Mark Miller, Extension agents in Rolette County.
The prevention-based program is designed to enhance the developmental assets of at-risk youth ages 10 to 14. The program provides one-on-one mentoring to strengthen academic and social skills; 4-H activities such as club involvement to enhance social competencies through leadership opportunities, community service and group project work; and family night out group activities designed to foster family bonds through experiential learning. Program goals include decreasing juvenile delinquency, improving social competencies and strengthening family bonds.
"The Extension Service is pleased to receive this award because it contributes to our goal of being an inclusive and multicultural organization that appropriately serves all the people of North Dakota," Center for 4-H Youth Development chair Brad Cogdill says. "This project will enhance our capacity to serve Native American audiences through evidence-based and culturally appropriate educational activities."
The award was made available on behalf of the 4-H National Headquarters through collaboration between the National 4-H Council and Department of Justice/Office of Justice Programs' Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The North Dakota award is part of a $1 million award to the National 4-H.
With its history of serving youth from varying cultures and circumstances, 4-H will adapt the YFP program nationally in about 29 tribal communities serving 1,100 Native American youth ages 10 to 17 within 16 months. Each program will be adapted to local customs.