The Learning Process of Reaching Out and Programming to Hispanic Audiences

The Learning Process of
Reaching Out and
Programming to Hispanic
Audiences
Waushara County’s CYFAR Project

What is the CYFAR Project?
(Children, Youth and Families At Risk)
CYFAR is a five year federal grant that has been
awarded to UW Cooperative-Extension
(specifically Waushara and Racine Counties).
• The focus of the grant is to reach out to and
provide educational programs to low-income,
Hispanic families in the Tri-County School
District (Plainfield and Hancock, WI mostly).

Why Plainfield and Hancock?
• Demographics – Hispanic Residents
– Waushara County
• 1990 - 2% 1
2007 – 5.1% 2
– 18% of the Tri-County School population 3
– 19% Village of Plainfield 1
– 6% Village of Hancock 1
– 16% Rural Plainfield 1
• Lack of resources
1
United States Census Data, 2000
2
United States Census Estimates, 2007
3
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2009

CYFAR Staffing:
• 4-H Youth Development and Family
Living educators working cooperatively
• Two part-time (19 hours/week) CYFAR
staff were hired with grant funds
• Additional summer and year-round
VISTAs assist with the youth component
• Three state specialists with different %’s
of time, support the project:
Matthew Calvert, Mary Huser and Jeffrey
Lewis

Broad, original goals:
• To increase participation of youth (grades 3-8)
in high quality in-school and out-of-school time
activities, specifically school and summer
enrichment programs.
• To offer monthly parenting programs that
encourage parents to be more supportive and
involved in their child’s in-school and out-of-
school activities.

Family Needs Assessment:
• Family interviews were conducted with
Hispanic families in the Tri-County School
District (Plainfield and Hancock, WI mostly).
• Most interviews were conducted in Spanish
with a bi-lingual CYFAR staff person.

What did we learn from the
family interviews?
• Parents want to learn English
• Like the rural area they live in
• Parents and youth Feel safe in the community
• “No one bothers them”
• They like the “relaxed” and “natural” rural town
they live in
• Don’t celebrate or share their culture outside of
their homes

family interviews?
• Want their children to go to good schools and do
well academically and socially
• Want kids to have stability in the school they
attend rather than moving frequently
• Rely on extended families for information on or
how to access resources
• Even with extended family, they often don’t
spend much time with one another because they
work so much

family interviews?
• Families enjoy simple activities like spending
time talking with their kids or just being
outside when the weather is good
• Their food is an important part of their culture
• Work hours are unpredictable and there are
often long periods without work (several
weeks). Therefore most choose to work more
hours whenever the opportunity is available

Our Approach…
COMMUNITY
ADULT
and
PARENT
FAMILY
YOUTH

FAMILY PROGRAMS
• Family Fun Nights
• Family Potlucks
• Home Visits
• Cultural Events
• Mother and Youth Cooking
Classes
Goals of these programs:
• Increase positive
parent/child time together
• Build adult and youth peer
relationships
• Increase awareness of
community resources

Adult & Parent Programs
– Women’s Night
– Couple’s Night
– English Conversation Classes
Goals of these programs:
• Build social relationships with other adults and
parents.
• Improve their English conversation skills.
• Increase their awareness of community
resources.

Conversation classes are
building a sense of
“connectedness” (in a
support group like way) and
creating opportunities for
these individuals to develop
themselves.
“This class will
help me to
communicate
with my kid’s
teachers”

Planning for Youth Programs
• Staff facilitated focus groups in the school to
determine the interests of elementary youth.
• The school did not have any after-school or
summer opportunities for elementary students.
• Staff created lessons based on youth interests,
personal hobbies and talents, and 4-H
curriculum.

Youth Programs
• Tri-County Area School and Hancock Community Center
• Opportunities are culturally sensitive, welcoming, and
safe for youth
• Curriculum includes new activities that are engaging,
creative, and active
• Activities focus on leadership, teamwork, life skill
development, and service learning.
– Fun Fridays/Penguin KidZ 4-H Clubhouse
– Wacky Weekdays
– Youth In Action
– Penguin KidZ 4-H Clubhouse Leaders

“I really like
working with
you because
you are nice
to me.”
“I learned to
respect others
and listen to
them. They had
good ideas.”

Community Programs
Traditional Mexican Holidays served as
opportunities for families and CYFAR staff to
plan and host celebrations in order to bring
community members and businesses together
and share their culture.
– 16 de Septiembre (Mexican Independence Day)
– Cinco De May (May 5th
)

Mexican Independence Day
• Celebrated on the 16th
of September, this event
brought together Anglo and Hispanic populations
at a local park.
• More than 20 business have supported this
gathering twice trough donations of food,
decorations and door prizes.
• Approximately 125 community members
attended the celebration the first year and about
150 the second year.
• About 10% of attendees were non-Hispanic.

What we have learned so far…
Community Partnerships
• Typical community partnerships for
building trust with the Hispanic
community were scarce or non-existent
in the Plainfield and Hancock areas.
(churches, cap agency, social service
agencies, community cultural center,
employers)

Staffing
• Having a bi-lingual staff person who is a
trusted member of the community is
critical. This person acts as a liaison
between the families and the unfamiliar
project staff.
• Multiple staff focus on Youth Programs
• Consistent staff

Program Planning
Barriers to program implementation
• Non-existent relationships with families
• Trust
• Language and Literacy
• Long work days for families
• Transportation
• Confidence

Initial Assumptions
• Families are low income with most being
dependent on seasonal employment.
• Families are aware of and utilize some
community resources i.e. Food Pantry

Realization
• Most families experience extreme poverty,
periods of unemployment, food insecurity, fear
of homelessness and untreated medical and
dental problems.
• About half of the families do not qualify for
public welfare programs due to their citizenship
status.
• Families hesitate to seek resources that are
unfamiliar to them.
– Typical income for family of 4 is $13,200 (100% of U.S.
Federal poverty level for a family of 4 is $22,044)
Physical, emotional and financial stress are
constant factors in their lives

Assumption
• Parents needed and wanted information to
improve parenting skills
Realization
• Learning parenting skills was not a high
area of interest for parents
• Parents have a lot of strengths in place

Assumption
• Informal networks exist within Hispanic
community
Realization
• Families, mother in particular, are very
isolated from their peers and other social
support systems

For More Information Contact:
Waushara County
P.O. Box 487
Wautoma, WI 54982
(920) 787-0416
http://waushara.uwex.edu

The Learning Process of Reaching Out and Programming to Hispanic Audiences

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