Maryland: New Communities Project Overview

State:  Maryland
Project Title:  Community Youth Connections
Location of Community Projects:   Frederick County, Garrett County, Somerset County
Web Site Address:  http://www.agnr.umd.edu/CYFAR

Project Staff
Kendra WellsState Project Directorklwells@umd.edu
Susan K. WalkerState Project Evaluatorskwalker@umd.edu
Christopher SargentState Project Technology Specialistcsargent@umd.edu

"Through innovative, collaborative practices the Maryland New Communities Project strives to enhance youth development programming in underserved areas of our state."


Description:  Community Youth Connections! addresses community needs of children, youth and families in rural and urban communities through the development of community systems and processes that support positive youth development. With youth, families, and community partners, this project builds community capacity to provide quality youth development experiences in community-based, afterschool settings. Young people participate in non-formal educational programs to support their academic goals and develop skills to become stronger citizens in their communities. The projects build on the assets of children, youth, families and communities and engages community members through partnerships and collaborative efforts.

Afterschool program sites are located in Crisfield , Maryland , Kitzmiller, Grantsville and Friendsville , Maryland and Frederick , Maryland. Additionally, the project is a partner with UDC Reads, the University of the District of Columbia Cooperative Extension Service’s afterschool literacy program created to break the chain of illiteracy that ties people to poverty.

Statewide the project is supported by Maryland Cooperative Extension (MCE) faculty in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Health and Human Performance, Department of Family Studies at the University of Maryland College Park and MCE faculty at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Community partners include local schools, 21st CCLC programs, Police Activity League, local housing authorities, CBO's and local government. Parents and other caring community adults to be involved in program delivery and support for the youth.

Quarterly New Community Project team meetings focus on connectivity of sites, participants and NCP team , project sustainability, and identifying staff development and training for project team members and extension faculty and staff throughout the state.

FY 2005 Accomplishments:  Accomplishments in year 2 of the Maryland Community Youth Connections Project at the state level:

  • Provided support for all project team members and for two additional faculty to attend the CYFAR conference.
  • Identified and refined shared youth development outcomes across the three sites to demonstrate statewide impact. The outcomes focus on academic achievement related to afterschool programming.
  • Engaged a graduate student to conduct a search, through CYFERnet of afterschool technology projects, to identify program and evaluation strategies to support community sites.
  • Developed a website to support the project that links to CYFERnet, CYFAR, Community sites,
  • Developed a web-based system for shared reporting of program outcome data.
  • Coordinated the project website with the state Extension site on child care and afterschool programming to increase statewide accessibility to information about the New Communities Project.
  • Conducted quarterly team meetings using distance learning technology.
  • Successfully developed a sub-contract relationship with the University of the District of Columbia Cooperative Extension to extend CYFAR resources to the DC Reads Afterschool Project.
  • New Communities Project Staff participate in the statewide 4-H Afterschool Network, hosted Lights on Afterschool Events at their sites, and contribute to staff development and training in afterschool.
  • Encouraged the development of new community partners at all sites to continue to build a community base for sustainability.
  • Effectively communicated the goals of the CYFAR project and the specific programs of our three sites to new Maryland Cooperative Extension leaders, garnering additional administrative support for the projects.

Outcomes: State-wide capacity:  Statewide capacity to address the needs of youth in afterschool settings has been expanded by sharing lessons learned from the Community Youth Connections project with colleagues in other counties. The statewide 4-H Afterschool Task Force was expanded to include the three funded sites and site staff are active participants in planning professional development for 4-H and FCS educators across the state. The Somerset County project was submitted by the county project director and accepted for inclusion in the National 4-H Programs of Distinction and serves as a model for other programs across the state. Additionally, the strong support from extension administration for the work being done through the CYFAR project has sent a strong message to the Maryland Cooperative Extension system about the value of this work.

Outcomes for Children, Youth, Parent/Families, Communities:  Using information from interviews with site coordinators and Extension professionals in which priorities for program outcomes were stated, identified common youth development outcomes across the three sites to demonstrate statewide impact. The outcomes focus on academic achievement related to afterschool programming.

Analyzing monthly attendance data for three months, identified the expected size and participant demographics of two sites featuring computer lab/afterschool programs.

Using collective input from site coordinators and Extension educators, developed an observation tool for computer lab/afterschool program sites to assess computer literacy in school age children and middle school youth. The assessment module with consent/assent forms and implementation guidelines was approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board.
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Please Send Comments or Questions to:
swright@csrees.usda.gov
November 21, 2001