4-H as a culturally responsive program : building an afterschool 4-H program that engages Latino youth and parents in Sacramento, CA

Abstract

In a richly diverse state -- and one where no single ethnic group makes a clear majority -- the University of California 4-H Youth Development Program (CA 4-H YDP) is proposing new program structures to attract and serve Latino audiences, especially through a 4-H Club experience. One such structure creates 4-H Clubs in established after-school programs that take place on school sites. The 4-H Youth Development Program in Sacramento, California, has a history of engaging African American, Asian, and Latino youth in a variety of non-club programs, and is seeking to establish an after-school 4-H Club at a charter school serving primarily Latino children. In an effort to better understand the qualities that best support Latino participation in positive youth development (PYD) programs, CA 4-H YDP also commissioned a review to synthesize the research and literature in this area. The resulting paper (Erbstein and Fabionar, 2014) explores Latino participation in PYD programs through a framework, Positive Youth Development Program Elements, which includes four components: conceptual framework, program elements, organizational infrastructure, and organizational and community relationships. This paper has two purposes: to describe the process, challenges, and outcomes in forming a predominately Latino 4-H Club in an after school setting; and to view the process of forming the Club through the lens of the Positive Youth Development Program Elements framework.